The UTM 24 Festive Drums Cultural Exchange Programme took place in January 2019 in Chaozhou, China.  The establishment of this programme was to have a better understanding on the culture of 24 festive drums at different region, which is between Malaysia and China. Although 24 festive drums originated from Johor, Malaysia, it is getting much attention in China recently. Through this trip, we hope to promote our own culture in China and exchange each other’s ideas to make the best version of 24 festive drums.

The first place visited was Chao Xiang Gu Dui (潮响鼓队). We exchanged our ideas regarding the performance for 24 festive drums, such as visual impact and tempo of drum playing. Besides, we talked about effective ways in managing a club too. Members of Chao Xiang Gu Dui were mostly working adults, but they were still able to maintain a stable number of active members. Their key to success is be considerate and have constant meeting. Through these methods, then only we can understand each other’s needs and thus feel comfortable to be in the club.

Furthermore, we went to Ling Xi High School (磷溪中学). Their high school has a newly established 24 festive drums club. We were invited to perform there and later had a teaching session with the students. Through this, we can promote Malaysia 24 festive drums culture to the local students.

Lastly, we were invited to have a cultural exchange session with Huaqiao University’s 24 Festive Drums Club and Quanzhou’s Bei Feng High School (北峰中学). During the session, we discussed about the club culture in respective universities and better ways of organizing event in university. We also talked about dreams of promoting 24 festive drums to bigger audience in China. Although 24 festive drums is getting attention in China recently, it is still unknown to most of the public.