Among his handicraft collection, Xiao Lin likes a giraffe sculpture most. The sculpture, some 20cm high and made from ebony, came from one of his friends in Africa.

The twenty-something man is one of the Beijingers who have become interested in African art since the city hosted the 2006 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

On Tuesday night, he and thousands of other citizens went to the Great Hall of the People in the Tian'anmen Square for a show by African artists.

The African Night show, performed by nearly 100 artists from South Africa, Tanzania, Mauritius, Rwanda, Senegal, Cameroun and Kenya, was among the celebrations for the 10-day countdown to the Beijing Olympic Games.

"African art is pure and unrestricted. It is the most original and advant-courier expression of human feelings," said Cheng Hui, a member of Chinese-African People's Friendship Association.

Cheng is also the executive director of a handcraft chain shop "Close to Africa". The shop started from a stall in a Beijing-based shopping mall which sold Africa-made handcrafts. Now there are 50 chain shops under the name of "Close to Africa" across the country.

He said he would open a factory in Beijing to make products featured with African flavors.

"We cannot rely on imports to meet growing domestic demand. We are going to use African materials and hire African craftsmen to produce things like bags, lights and sofa," he said.

Aside from handicrafts, mysterious African music and dances are seen displayed in Beijing's bars and pubs. More and more foreign students from Africa joined the performances.

"African culture becomes popular in China because Chinese begin to accept diversified foreign cultures other than Occident ones." said Ms. Zhang who has worked with the Embassy of the Republic of Senegal and Tunisian Embassy in Beijing.

(Xinhua News Agency July 31, 2008)