On January 10th, the "My Spring Festival in Anhui" 2025 Spring Festival gathering for Chinese and foreign friends was successfully held at Luogang Park in Hefei. This event was organized by the Foreign Affairs Office of Anhui Provincial People's Government, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Anhui Province, the Press Office of Anhui Provincial People's Government, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Anhui Province, and the People's Government of Hefei City. Approximately 120 guests from 45 countries, including foreign nationals residing in Anhui from the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao, were invited to participate.

The morning of the 10th marked the beginning of the festivities with an opening musical performance titled "Celebrating the Year of the Snake, Spring Comes to All Corners of the World." Representatives from foreign-funded enterprises, international students, consulates general in Shanghai, along with leaders from the Hefei municipal government, successively gave speeches. Following these, both Chinese and foreign participants joined together to perform songs and dances such as "Stepping into Spring," "Spring in the North," and "Couple Returns Home Together," creating a warm and lively atmosphere on site.

In 2024, Anhui Province actively carried out international exchanges and cooperation, and further expanded its global circle of friends. It has carried out economic and trade cooperation with more than 230 countries and regions, and has established 101 pairs of friendly inter-provincial (city) relations with 39 countries in six continents around the world. In the new year, Anhui will seize the new opportunities brought by the 240-hour transit visa-free policy, adhere to high-level opening up to serve high-quality development, be a practitioner of friendly cooperation, a promoter of mutual learning among civilizations, and work together to create a better future. 

During the event, the guests visited the Anhui Garden and experienced intangible cultural heritage skills such as paper cutting, calligraphy, tea art, and carving; Chinese New Year customs such as dragon dance, lion dance, and sugar figure blowing aroused strong interest among foreign friends and Hong Kong and Macao compatriots in Anhui; The guests also tasted a variety of Anhui specialties and delicious snacks at the "Anhui Taste" snack street in Luogang Park.

The "My Spring Festival in Anhui" 2025 Spring Festival gathering for Chinese and foreign friends event allowed foreign nationals and representatives of compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao residing in Anhui to gain a deeper understanding of the latest achievements of Anhui Province in fully implementing the new development concepts and promoting high-quality development. The event provided an immersive experience of the harmonious integration of China's excellent traditional culture with modern technology, effectively promoting mutual understanding between the Chinese people and foreign friends. And served as an effective support for the province's high-level opening-up to the outside world. 

Source: anhuinews.com