French city of Orleans holds Spring Festival celebrations

A series of activities celebrating China's Spring Festival were held in Orleans, France from Jan 29 to Feb 9.

Many people are drawn to the French city annually for the Spring Festival celebrations, where they can experience different elements of Chinese traditional culture, such as tai chi, calligraphy, traditional folk dancing and dragon dancing.

Yangzhou ditty, one of Yangzhou's intangible cultural heritages, is performed during the event celebrating the Spring Festival in Orleans, France. [Photo/yznews.com.cn]

Promoting the culture of the city of Yangzhou in Jiangsu province has been one of the main themes of the activities for the last three years. Yangzhou and Orleans have been deepening friendly exchanges since 2015 and the two cities officially established a sister city relationship in 2018.

This year, a gaily-painted pleasure boat was presented to Orleans by the Yangzhou government.

The traditional Chinese boat, featuring Yangzhou's canal culture, will regularly set sail and take tourists from all over the world for sightseeing along the Loire River, which runs through the French city.

Additionally, a special tea, created by a local tea manufacturer with a history of more than 100 years, was released by the event's organizer at the opening ceremony.

It blends a Chinese tea flavor, and its package has a picture of Yangzhou's Wuting Bridge (Five-Pavilion Bridge) and the words "Yangzhou" and "Orleans", symbolizing the ever-growing friendship between the two cities.