On the evening of October 9, 2026, a “Chinese Culture Night — Wuju Opera Comes to Lesotho” performance took the stage in Maseru, the capital of the Kingdom of Lesotho. The programme marked the country’s 60th independence anniversary and fell within the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchange. Hosted by the Chinese Embassy in Lesotho, the troupe was drawn from the Zhejiang Wuju Art Research Institute (Zhejiang Wuju Opera Troupe) and its Wuyi branch, the Wuyi County Wuju Art Heritage Centre, and was sent by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism at the embassy’s invitation. Nearly 300 people attended, including Ambassador Yang Xiaokun, the queen, the acting prime minister, the speaker of the National Assembly, the youth minister and five cabinet ministers, together with former officials, parliamentarians, government officers, diplomatic envoys and overseas Chinese living in Lesotho.
A 400-Year-Old Art Form on a Maseru Stage
Wuju is a traditional Chinese opera genre from Zhejiang province with a history of more than 400 years. It weaves together singing, music, dance, stylised body movement and acrobatics, and is known for the visual punch of its martial sequences. Before departing, the team carefully polished its repertoire; once on the ground the performers worked through long-haul flights, an unfamiliar climate and venue constraints to deliver two dedicated shows in good form. The centrepiece was the classic Wuju piece Three Times Beating the White Bone Demon, whose twisting plot and high-difficulty martial stunts — carried to the audience through bilingual Chinese-English subtitles — let African viewers read the Eastern cultural meaning inside a mythic story.
The Ambassador Returned for a Second Show
Ambassador Yang Xiaokun attended the opening performance and was drawn in by the form’s signature “civil scenes performed with martial style” (wen xi wu zuo). So taken was he that he came back especially for the second show, and he repeatedly praised Three Times Beating the White Bone Demon. On both nights, each time the action reached a climax the house answered with warm applause, and Lesotho National Television carried coverage of the event.
The Lesotho leg itself ran two shows, at the Avani Maseru Hotel and the National Convention Centre. From there the same company moved on to Zimbabwe, where it was scheduled to give two more performances at the Seven Arts Theatre — four shows across two countries in all. It was not the troupe’s first long journey: Wuju has travelled to more than 80 countries and regions, and is regarded as one of Zhejiang’s brightest calling cards in external cultural exchange.
China-Africa Exchange Year
This timing was deliberate. The 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchange gave the visit added weight, and Lesotho’s 60th independence anniversary supplied the occasion. In his remarks Ambassador Yang set the performance against China’s four global initiatives, above all the Global Civilization Initiative, and reviewed the record of China-Lesotho cultural cooperation. Speaker Sekhamane and Youth Minister Lesaoana warmly welcomed the troupe, affirmed the role of cultural exchange in deepening the friendship between the two peoples and thanked China for its long-term support in Lesotho’s development. A day later, on October 10, a separate community show for the overseas Chinese in Lesotho drew nearly 600 compatriots, the embassy using the art form to bring the diaspora closer to home.
