The world expo has spotlighted countries that we are not very familiar with. With the coming of Madagascar Pavilion Day, the name of the country reminds us the hit animated film. However, this is the real Madagascar unveiled, with demonstrations to impress and entertain expo visitors.

 

Folk artists from Madagascar are bringing their indigenous music to the expo. They were joined by a group of dancers dressed in colorful clothes, bringing their country's beat to the stage.

The dances originated from sacrificial rituals, or they were used to express love, or friendship. While other dances are performed as a blessing for sick people. Many of them are passed down from their ancestors.

Kanto Miray, Band Director, said, "Through these traditional musical instruments, and traditional dances, we unwrapped the age old rituals of Madagascar. We have many rain forests in our country, so our percussion music is passionate, also the costumes bear a long standing history."

For the performers, their first trip to China is very special.

"The expo is organized well, Shanghai is beautiful! Both Madagascar and China has rich traditional culture. We'll try our best to show Madagascar to the world." Kanto Miray said.

The film Madagascar depicts the mystic land with a group of animal characters. The island nation, off the southeastern coast of Africa, is home to many rare animals and plant species, such as the lemur, believed to be one of the first animals found on the planet in the post dinosaur period. And the Baobab tree, which is depicted in the fairytale the "Little Princess", with a life span as long as four to six thousand years.

Weaving and boat making are pillar industries in Madagascar which are on display in the pavilion hall. If you have a zeal for gems, you will find paradise here. Some of the gems were fossilized hundreds of millions of years ago and are worth as much as 10 thousand yuan each. And there's even more here such as this toy chameleon.