Jingxi residents perform during the China and Vietnam Border Inhabitants Gala in China's border city of Jingxi in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on May 19, 2019. The China and Vietnam Border Inhabitants Gala began Sunday in China's border city of Jingxi in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with a theme of strengthening friendly exchanges in the border area. During the two-day event, diverse activities will be held with musical performance by popular singers from the two countries and folk song festivals joined by ordinary residents as well as tourist promotion activities. Famous scholars and writers are invited to attend cultural exchange events held during the gala discussing topics such as cross-border cooperation programs concerning Belt and Road Initiative. (Xinhua/Zhang Ailin)

NANNING, May 19 (Xinhua) -- The China and Vietnam Border Inhabitants Gala began Sunday in China's border city of Jingxi in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, with a theme of strengthening friendly exchanges in the border area.

During the two-day event, diverse activities will be held with musical performance by popular singers from the two countries and folk song festivals joined by ordinary residents as well as tourist promotion activities.

Famous scholars and writers are invited to attend cultural exchange events held during the gala discussing topics such as cross-border cooperation programs concerning Belt and Road Initiative.

"China and Vietnam enjoy a deep and lasting friendship, and the border inhabitants of the two countries share similar customs, such as developing friendship via dancing and singing. The gala is a way to enhance our exchange", says Do Hong Quan, chairman of the Vietnamese Music Association.

In addition to entertainmnet activities, participants are also invited to visit the city of Jingxi in Guangxi bordering Vietnam's Tra Linh County.

Over the years, Jingxi has become an essential part of a trade route linking China with Vietnam as China-ASEAN economic ties become closer.

The Jingxi-Tra Linh economic cooperation zone has helped created 100,000 job opportunities for border inhabitants of the two countries.

Meanwhile, cultural communication between Guangxi and Vietnam has become more frequent due to closer trade ties. The booming exchanges have attracted more Vietnamese students to study in Guangxi.

According to Guangxi's education deparmant, the region now has over 3,200 Vietnamese students.

"The gala promotes people-to-people exchanges, and I will attend it next year," said 23-year-old Nguyen Mai Phung in fluent Chinese, a Vietnamese graduate student of a Guangxi-based university.

Guangxi, which borders Vietnam, plays a big role in China's cooperation with ASEAN. The annual gala held since 2009 has been organized in turn in a number of border cities in Guangxi, including Fangcheng, Dongxing and Pingxiang.