Each day at Al Bait Al Emarati begins with Al Shella, an Emirati folk song of welcome performed a cappella across the UAE pavilion at the Beijing International Book Fair.
Leading the call is Nahyan Mubarak Al Mansoori, an Emirati folk singer from Abu Dhabi. He performs from a corner of the pavilion designed to recreate an Emirati heritage village, complete with a majlis for communal seating and elderly women spinning wool in the traditional weaving Bedouin practice of Al Sadu.
Visitors can also have henna applied, a Gulf tradition inscribed on Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
“Art brings people together, and when music is delivered through the human voice, it really is the language of the world,” Al Mansoori tells The National. “Through art, I can connect with Chinese people because it draws in the listener.
“When the Chinese audience hears Emirati music, they hear a language they may not understand, but they appreciate that, like their own heritage, it draws on deep traditions and practices.”
Al Shella is part of Al Mansoori’s daily programme, which also includes Emirati folk chants and performance forms such as Al Taghrooda, Al Wannah, Al Radh and Al Mankous.
He performs in traditional clothing, wearing a white kandura and light-coloured waistcoat, with a khanjar, the traditional curved dagger, secured at his waist.
The programme forms part of the Abu Dhabi Heritage Authority’s contribution to the UAE’s guest-of-honour programme at the book fair, ending Sunday, which brings together more than 20 cultural and publishing institutions from across the Emirates.
It also marks one of the authority’s first major overseas activations since it was established in 2024, according to project manager Eman Al Hammadi.
“On a broader international level, we have begun developing a plan to take Emirati heritage to the world,” she tells The National.
“We can describe this as our first overseas participation of this scale because we are taking part in the UAE pavilion while the country is guest of honour. God willing, there is more to come.”
Al Hammadi says the programme was designed to give Chinese visitors direct access to traditions they may be encountering for the first time.
“When we travel abroad, people enjoy seeing the different elements of Emirati heritage, particularly because many of these things are unfamiliar to them,” she explains.
“There are many points where Emirati heritage and Chinese civilisation meet, especially in decorative patterns and in the methods used to make things.”
Among the craftswomen practising Al Sadu is Umm Salem from Abu Dhabi, who greets Chinese visitors with the warmth of Emirati hospitality, offering dates to eat and inviting them to sit beside her for conversation.
“This is my first time in China. Before this, I visited South Korea,” she says.
“The distances between our countries may be great, but learning about one another’s traditions brings us closer.”
Umm Salem says taking part in international events gives traditional crafts the prominence they deserve. “What we are doing matters. It should never be treated as a sideshow or simply a bit of entertainment,” she says.
“What we have seen here in Beijing is that heritage is one of the first things people are drawn to when they enter the pavilion. It breaks through any initial shyness because people instinctively understand what we are doing.”
Laura Yang, a Beijing resident originally from Inner Mongolia, came across the pavilion while visiting with her seven-year-old child.
“We were looking around the exhibition when we unexpectedly came across the UAE pavilion,” she says. “I thought the pavilion was beautifully designed and had a distinctive atmosphere. It made me feel as though I had arrived in the desert.”
Yang hopes such programmes and activities will return to the city because “they encourage international and cultural exchange”, she says. “Experiences like this are also very valuable for children.”
Gahwa, or Arabic coffee, is presented elsewhere in Al Bait Al Emarati through Bait Al Gahwa, an initiative by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi.
Coffee expert Obeid Al Kaabi guides visitors through the preparation and serving of the drink, explaining the etiquette attached to each stage. This includes the order in which cups are offered and the rhythmic striking of the mortar and pestle, a sound that signals coffee is being prepared and everyone is welcome.
“Coffee means a great deal to us. It is part of our national identity and holds an important place in Emirati culture,” he says.
“We teach these traditions to our children so they understand how gahwa should be prepared and served, and how every guest must be treated with respect, regardless of where they come from.”
At the Sharjah Institute for Heritage stand, Emirati traditions are reaching Chinese audiences through publishing and translation.
The institute has participated in book fairs in China for more than a decade. This year, it is presenting more than 10 Chinese-language editions in Beijing, including a translation of the Encyclopaedia of Mythical Creatures in Emirati Heritage.
“The potential audience for the Arabic language here is enormous,” says Khalid Ali Al Matrooshi, the institute’s director of protocol. “Even if only a fraction of China’s population is interested in Arabic, that still represents a very large number of people.”
He says the institute’s experience in China has shown that readers respond to cultures through the stories and traditions that shape them.
“Chinese readers are interested in discovering different cultures through heritage and lived experiences,” he says. “Like all of us, they are curious when you have a great story to tell.”
That curiosity also reaches the dining table.
Emirati chef Arwa Lootah was invited by the UAE Embassy in Beijing to present a six-dish menu at the fair, marking her first international trip showcasing her contemporary interpretations of Emirati staples.
The dishes include chicken machboos served in tartlet form with dried-lime salt and a regag mille-feuille with laban mousse, a contemporary take on the thin Emirati bread.
“Culinary diplomacy is important because when we travel, one of the first things we want to do is try the local food and understand the culture through it,” Lootah says.
“Emirati cuisine still does not have the international presence it deserves, so we have a mission and responsibility to represent our country through food, whether traditional dishes are served in their original form or adapted into formats such as canapes.”
As Al Mansoori completes another day of performances, he says traditions will continue to resonate with new generations as long as the people who inherit them are willing to embody their values and share them with others.
“As Emiratis, we have known our heritage since the day we were born. We see it and live with it inside our homes,” he says.
“When we step outside our homes, we try to share our culture, our heritage and Emirati customs and etiquette with others. We are telling our story, and it is only right that we do so with the utmost commitment and generosity because that is how we were taught.”
