Tianjin (China): Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a red-carpet welcome at Binhai International Airport as he arrived in China to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.
On his first visit to China in seven years, Modi was greeted by senior Chinese and Indian officials at the airport.
Members of the Indian diaspora in Tianjin greeted PM Modi with chants of ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’ and ‘Vande Mataram.’
At the hotel, too, a grand reception was organised for Modi. He was treated to cultural programs presented by Chinese artists who performed Indian classical music and dance.
Modi stood and appreciated a well-synchronised sitar, santoor and tabla show, followed by Odissi, Bharatanatyam and Kathak dance performances. The Prime Minister later interacted with the artists.
#WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi watches performances based on Indian classical music and dance, as he arrives at a hotel in Tianjin, China.
The performers are Chinese nationals who have been learning Indian classical music and dance for years now.
(Video: ANI/DD) pic.twitter.com/tHJeQPm1n3
— ANI (@ANI) August 30, 2025
Many of the performers revealed that they have been learning and practising Indian classical arts for years.
Zhang Jinghu, a member of the dance group who performed Odissi, admitted she was nervous.
“I felt a little nervous but it is a great honour for me and my crew. I have learned Odissi for more than 13 years. We practised this for 2 months and performed… He asked me where I learned this. I learned from India and my guruji is Sanchita Bhattacharya from Kolkata,” she said.
“I feel classical dance is like an ocean. If you want to learn it, you have to take it deep, you have to learn many stories… I introduced these things to China’s students and they love it. They want to learn it for long and deep,” added Zhang, who has become a teacher now.
#WATCH | Tianjin, China: A group of Odissi dancers gives a glimpse into their performance. They performed to welcome PM Narendra Modi to the city. pic.twitter.com/f6GLNoUEPh
— ANI (@ANI) August 30, 2025
Another performer, Jin Shanshan (Eesha), spoke about her decades-long engagement with Bharatanatyam. “I started learning Bharatnatyam in 1994. It has been almost 30 years. For today’s programme, we have been preparing for about a month. We prepared a new item… I think now more and more people have started to know it and enjoy it. I’ve got about 100 students… We feel so excited and we practised a lot. It is a big thing for us.”