When Brazilian samba meets Chinese elements

During a carnival in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia two years ago, a large Chinese dragon boat carrying a Chinese palace and terracota warriors received a standing ovation.

The float performance representing "ancient and innovative China" somewhat met the curiosity of Brazilian people to know about the Asian giant. It was one of the few things from China in the famous Brazil Carnival.

Now many Brazilian samba experts realize that the carnival and samba can serve as a platform for Brazilians to better understand China.

"Although Brazil and China are both BRICS countries and cooperate in many ways, most Brazilians still don't know much about what a real China looks like," Ricardo Fernandes, a carnival director at Grande Rio samba school, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

"The carnival is one of the most popular cultural activities in Brazil. Showing Chinese cultural elements during the carnival may be the best way to make Brazilians know more about China," Fernandes said.

Fernandes also said he wants to work with Chinese enterprises so that his school can show the "real" China by promoting Chinese culture to Brazilians through various forms of choreography and performance in the carnival.

Echoing Fernandes' comments, Ronnie Parra, head of the samba school that performed the Chinese theme in the 2012 carnival, said: "Although in recent years the relations between China and Brazil have become closer and closer, Brazilians still have a poor understanding about the faraway country."

The Brazil Carnival is usually held in February or March each year and it is a large market.

This year's carnival in Rio de Janeiro lured 900,000 tourists to stay in the city for the revelry, and generated a revenue of some 950 million U.S. dollars for the city, according to the Rio Tourism Company.

Of that total, 750 million dollars came from tourism, including hotel and restaurant revenues, and the rest from the activities more directly linked to the carnival, such as street parades, decorations, and investment in samba schools.

Jayder Soares, president of Grande Rio samba school, used the word "passion" to describe samba and his school.

Soares said that as a symbol of Brazilian culture, samba could act as a booster to cultural exchanges between Brazil and China. He said he hopes to carry out in-depth cooperation with Chinese enterprises during the carnival, and to have more Chinese elements in his samba school.

Grande Rio samba school, founded in 1988, is one of 12 samba schools that will parade in Rio's 2015 carnival. Performances by the schools will be evaluated by 40 jurors, which grade them on band, music, boats, theme and costumes.

Even though there are some six months ahead of next year's carnival, Grande Rio samba school has been making intense preparation due to the fierce competition.

Its training camp is inside the Rio Samba School League. Located between the city center and the port of Rio, the league, also known as the "Samba City," is a hub for all the 12 samba schools.

From outside, the Samba City looks like a big storage building -- gorgeous carnival boats and costumes are stored inside. Every school in the Samba City must keep its own performance theme as a secret before the start of the carnival.

When the carnival ends, the samba schools will spend the whole year preparing for the next week-long show.