Performers from the Ordos Song and Dance Theater from Inner Mongolia autonomous region present wedding traditions through the musical drama The Wedding of Ordos at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Charlene Cai / China Daily

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It is the first time the nationally award-winning group has performed in the United States although it has already visited Japan, Singapore and Hungary in previous years.

During its week-long stay in Washington, the troupe staged a smaller show in the Salisbury University in Maryland and conducted an exchange with faculty and students at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington.

The Wedding of Ordos not only introduced audiences to the remote Inner Mongolian region where few foreign tourists have set foot; it also unveiled a long festive Chinese New Year celebration in the Washington area.

At the Smithsonian American Art Museum near DC's Chinatown on Saturday, China's Ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, kicked off a Chinese New Year Family Festival, with a variety of kid- and family-friendly activities including a puppet show, a performance on the guzheng, a traditional Chinese instrument, calligraphy, paper cutting and clay figuring. It drew an estimated 2,000 people.

The Tianjin Puppet Troupe performed at the Millennium Stage at Kennedy Center on Saturday evening. On Sunday, the World Artists Experiences and the Chinese Embassy teamed up at the Avalon Theatre in Easton, Maryland, just outside of DC, to present various events for children and adults celebrating the Year of the Horse.