Performance on Centennial of 1911 Revolution Held in Houston

The Cultures of China's North America tour stopped at the fourth largest US city of Houston Sunday with a warmly applauded show in commemoration of the centennial of the Xinhai Revolution.

The tour, one of three currently traveling the world in celebration of the centennial of the Xinhai Revolution, is following in the footsteps of the global travels of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, leader of the Chinese bourgeois democratic revolution that ended the country's imperial rule.

The show was already staged in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Washington D.C. before it came to Houston.

"Over the past century, overseas Chinese have made great contribution to China's development," said Xu Yousheng, vice minister of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the China's State Council, which is organizing the tour.

Xu called on all Chinese, both at home and abroad, to join hands to realize China's reunification, and to enrich China's cultures and rejuvenate the nation.

In a speech before the show, Xu Erwen, the Chinese consul general in Houston, called the Xinhai Revolution a great event that put China on a new path of development.

Over the past 100 years, the Xinhai Revolution has inspired the Chinese people to strive for the country's independence, prosperity and reunification, Xu said.

With a cast of more than 40 performers, the two-hour show at the Wortham Theater Center in downtown Houston mainly depicts China's ethnic diversity in song and dance.

The show, which blends traditional sounds with modern beats, includes performances by Beijing Opera star Yang Chi, singers Feng Ruili, Ma Xiaochen and An Wang, and Inner Mongolian horse-head string player Chao Ke, who paid homage to his host with a moving version of My Heart Will Go On, the theme song from the Oscar-winning US movie "Titanic."

Houston Mayor Annise Parker extended congratulations to the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution and the 62nd anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

"Houston has been enriched by the presence and contributions of its citizens of Chinese ancestry and recognizes their important role in the cultural, civic, economic and spiritual life of our community," Parker said in a congratulatory letter.

Congressman Al Green and Ed Emmett, chief executive officer of Harris County, whose county seat is Houston, also extended their congratulations, wishing the Cultures of China tour a success.

Following Houston, the tour will travel to San Francisco before finishing in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Sept. 25.