Havana, Cuba.-With a varied program of activities, Havana is celebrating from today to June 4th the Festival of Chinese Culture, on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the arrival of inhabitants of that country to Cuba.

One of the objectives of this event is to highlight the influence of Chinese customs and traditions in this nation and the ties of friendship between the two peoples.

The festival also invites us to recall the arrival on June 3rd, 1847, of Chinese labourers to the Regla Port in Havana of the brigantine Oquendo, in which more than 100 Chinese experienced a long and inhuman crossing, and later joined to heavy works in the colonial Cuba.

The newcomers made contact with the black slaves brought from Africa, with whom they shared not a few sorrows. Their rebellious spirit and tradition of struggle were later patented in their integration into the Cuban independence struggles, researcher Mercedes Crespo said during a news conference.

The director of the House of Culture of the Asian country, Teresa Li, stated that martial arts shows, lectures, book presentations and exhibitions will be performed to commemorate that event.

Scheduled visits to ‘El Barrio Chino’ or Chinatown in Havana, the theatrical performance of the landing of Chisese to the Regla port and the issue of a stamp at the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples, are also on the list.

The play Bello Tianjin,’ starring in a delegation of artists from that Chinese territory, will be performed next Saturday at the Avellaneda hall of the Teatro Nacional de Cuba.