A samba performance inspired by aspects of China was one of the highlights of the parade on the last night of the annual carnival in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, Xinhua reports.

The Chinese government-run news agency says the performance by the Unidos de Vila Maria samba school began with a theatrical portrayal of the Monkey King, the central character in a classic of Chinese literature.

The report quotes a Chinese teacher living in Brazil who joined in the parade, Liao Si, as saying: “I’m proud to have a samba school feature China.”

Many Hunanese, from the south of the country, took part in a display of the ethnic diversity of China meant to show national unity, the report quotes another Chinese who joined in, Yang Xiang, as saying.

The performance demonstrated aspects of China from antiquity to the space age, Xinhua quotes Brazil-China Sociocultural Institute President Thomas Law as saying.