The Australian capital Canberra has staged a Spring Festival gala performance featuring the traditional charm of central China's culture to celebrate the Year of the Dragon, a key part of the 26th Australian National Multicultural Festival.
Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said in his opening speech on Friday that the Spring Festival, as the most important traditional festival of China, contains the common values of all mankind, such as harmony, hope and tolerance, and he hoped that everyone could feel the unique charm of Chinese culture through the performance.
Through the joint efforts of both sides, the relationship between China and Australia has embarked on the right path of improvement and development, Xiao said, adding that in the new year, China will actively implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen exchanges and dialogues in various fields, deepen practical cooperation, and consolidate the foundation of friendship between the two countries.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Chief Minister Andrew Barr said Canberra as a "sister city" of Beijing has benefited a lot from exchanges and cooperation with China, based on which the government of Canberra is looking forward to further strengthening the friendly relations between the two cities at the cultural, economic and social levels, and is willing to continue to cooperate with the Chinese embassy and make efforts to promote friendly relations between the two countries.
The gala performance presented by the Henan Art Troupe from central China's Henan Province captivated the audience, showcasing the richness of Chinese culture through martial arts, acrobatics, magic shows, Yu opera, as well as Chinese traditional songs and dances.
Local Australian residents also participated in the Chinese costume show, saying that celebrating the Chinese New Year in Australia has become a "new tradition" that has energized the whole city of Canberra.
The Year of the Dragon, or the Year of the Loong as some people have preferred, started on Feb. 10 this year.
The gala performance was jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy in Australia, the ACT government and the local Chinese community in Canberra.
The 26th National Multicultural Festival, running from Feb. 16 to 18 in Canberra, is one of Australia's largest celebrations of cultural diversity, which brings together more than 170 multicultural communities that share culture, history and heritage through food, art, song and dance.
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