On the evening of February 9, a cultural delegation from China’s northwestern province of Gansu performed a “Happy Spring Festival” programme at the Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi. Audiences saw a compact variety show — martial arts, acrobatics, dance and interactive segments — staged to mark the Lunar New Year and to entertain both local residents and members of the Chinese diaspora.
The event forms part of a broader Chinese festival tour in Africa that aims to connect communities abroad with New Year traditions while projecting a softer image of China overseas. Photographs from the theatre capture crowded seats, performers engaging directly with the audience and a final curtain call, underscoring the event’s aim: a warm, visible cultural exchange rather than a formal diplomatic summit.
Such provincial-led cultural missions are increasingly visible in China’s external engagement toolkit. While Beijing’s foreign policy headlines focus on trade and infrastructure under the Belt and Road Initiative, provincial delegations from less prominent regions like Gansu are now exporting regional cultural products to reinforce people‑to‑people ties and showcase the diversity of Chinese culture beyond coastal megacities.
Kenya is a frequent staging ground for these efforts. As a major partner in East Africa with deep commercial links to China, Kenya offers venues and audiences where cultural diplomacy can complement economic relationships. For local organisers and attendees, the shows provide entertainment and novelty; for Chinese authorities, they are low-cost, low-confrontation investments in favourable public perceptions.
The immediate payoff of such tours is symbolic: bolstering morale among overseas Chinese during a major festival, offering host-country audiences a curated view of Chinese traditions, and keeping cultural dialogue active even when geopolitical tensions are high. Yet the ability of acrobats and martial artists to shift long-term attitudes is limited unless paired with sustained exchanges, language programmes, reciprocal visits and deeper institutional ties.
Viewed strategically, these performances are part of a layered approach to soft power. They help normalise Chinese presence through cultural familiarity, subtly supporting wider diplomatic and commercial objectives. Observers should watch whether provincial troupes become a routine element of China's external engagement and how local media and civic groups in partner countries respond over time.