Chongqing- The "2022 Perception of Chongqing·Mid-Autumn City Promotion in the USA" and the 2022 "Cultural China: Moon in Minnesota·Love for Motherland" series were held together on September 25 (local time) at the Mall of America in Minnesota. The activity was jointly sponsored by the Alliance of Minnesota Chinese Organizations(AMCO), Minnesota's Huaxing Art Troupe, the Chinese American Association of Minnesota (CAAM), and the Overseas Chinese Service Center of Minnesota. More than 50 local Chinese associations and other ethnic groups have participated.

At the opening ceremony, guests delivered speeches to wish the ceremony a complete success. Afterward, the guests enjoyed painting eyes upon a new "dragon" by traditional Chinese customs. This new dragon comes from Tongliang, Chongqing, a famous dragon town. It is a set of Tongliang Dragon dance equipment donated to the AMCO. It departed from Tongliang on August 23 and took one month to arrive in Minnesota, where it will join AMCO as a symbol of friendship between Chongqing and Minnesota and work with the Minnesota Dragon Dance Team to spread the beautiful and traditional Chinese cultural performance overseas.

Then a dragon and lion dance team from Minnesota showcased an excellent dragon dance performance. The newly established team aimed to promote the Chinese dragon culture and set a lively atmosphere in Minnesota.

The promotion films of Chongqing and Tongliang District were also shown on the big screen in the venue, which attracted many visitors to stop and watch.

In 2018 and 2019, Chongqing held a series of city promotion activities in Minnesota. This year's activity continued the inter-city communication situation, expanded publicity channels, and deepened the mutual understanding and friendship between Chongqing and Minnesota.

Dean Phillips, U.S. Representative; Zhao Jian, Consul General of the Chinese Consulate General in Chicago; Eric Pratt, State Senator; Nicole Joy Frethem, Sheriff of Ramsey County; Kelly Moller, State Assemblyman; Sia Her, Director of Minnesota Asian Affairs, Louis Lau, Vice President of Asian department of Mall of America, and Yan Bingwen, Chairman of the AMCO attended this activity.

As part of "2022 Perception of Chongqing·Mid-Autumn City Promotion in the USA", Chongqing will also carry out city image exhibitions, Tongliang dragon dance performances, and other activities in Minnesota to facilitate in-depth folk cultural exchanges. Among them, the "Chongqing City Image Exhibition" will bring the outstanding works of photographers in Chongqing for online and offline exhibitions at the Mall of America and long-term exhibitions at the Overseas Chinese Service Center of Minnesota.

With more events like this, Chinese voices are expected to be spread further through these local stories, shaping a vivid image of picturesque Chongqing and innovating urban forms of international communication.

(Chen Lu, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)