Actors in period costumes perform on a stage rebuilt as old Guangzhou streets in the original musical Young Sun Yat-sen. [Photo/Nanfang Plus]

Nearly 2,000 overseas Chinese representatives gathered in Guangzhou for the 10th Guangzhou Chinese Culture and Arts Festival, held as the city marks the 160th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's birth.

The festival opened on Nov 9, with its main performance at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall on Nov 10. Leaders of 138 overseas Chinese associations from 63 countries and regions attended, alongside young overseas Chinese scholars and students.

Founded in 2005, the event has become a flagship platform for Guangdong's overseas exchanges. Ten editions over two decades have made it a fixture of Chinese communities worldwide. This year it has taken on a new task: bringing Guangdong products to global markets.

A century-old Chinese association in South Africa's Transvaal returned a replica of the "Bo'ai" inscription Sun Yat-sen wrote for it. The original, the only such inscription naming a Chinese association, is a Grade-One national relic at the Overseas Chinese History Museum of China.

"Wherever they are, Guangdong and Guangzhou remain a warm home for overseas Chinese," said Bian Yong, chairman of the Guangzhou Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese.

Liang Guanjun, vice president of the China Overseas Friendship Association, said China is committed to supporting overseas Chinese. He urged them to tell China's story and deepen trade ties.

An original musical, Young Sun Yat-sen, and an exhibition on overseas Chinese history ran alongside the performance. For a community that once funded a revolution, the new role is building bridges for business.

An overseas Chinese delegate speaks onstage beside a replica of Sun Yat-sen's "Bo'ai" calligraphy held by two attendants. [Photo/Nanfang Plus]