The gala to celebrate Chinese New Year for international experts in Chongqing was held in the Jialing River Ropeway Museum on the evening of January 21, 2023.

Sponsored by the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development, Chongqing Science and Technology Bureau, and the Foreign Affairs Office of the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, the celebration involved international experts, artists, and entrepreneurs in the city.

The group photo of the international experts and guests in Chongqing. (Photo/ Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development)

Under the theme of “Celebrating Chinese New Year in Chongqing,” the event was transmitted live in English worldwide via iChongqing from 10:30 on New Year’s Eve. With the two rivers and four banks as the background, the event provided netizens around the world with a visual feast of fabulous artistic, cultural, and folk performances as part of intangible cultural heritage, as well as a dynamic light and fireworks show. It was simulcast by official social media accounts of the Chinese culture centers of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Egypt, Paris, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Athens, and so on. It was a delightful display of Chongqing’s art, culture, and urban landscapes for global audiences.

Peter Ritzen brought a fantastic piano performance. (Photo/ Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development)

The host and a panda puppet led the audience onto a “journey in search of fragrance” by making glutinous rice balls and dumplings, tasting hot pots, writing Spring Festival couplets, drawing New Year pictures, and cutting paper for window decoration.

Amid the beautiful violin piece “Spring Festival” and the piano music “Last Andante - Left Hand Solo,” the New Year bell sounded, and the guests enjoyed the drone, light, and fireworks shows across the river. The first Chongqing Metropolitan Art Festival fireworks show rang out the Old Year and ushered in the New Year around the Yangtze River and the Jialing River confluence. The display lasted about 20 minutes and created a joyful and jubilant atmosphere that uplifted spirits at home and around the world.

The guests experienced writing Spring Festival couplets, drawing New Year pictures, and cutting paper for window decoration. (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Commission of Culture and Tourism Development)

The lights from high-rise buildings reflected on the glistening river water, and the gorgeous fireworks constituted the unique night view of Chongqing with an interplay of “mountains, rivers, the city, and the sky” and shaped the majestic and beautiful image of it in the new era.

After the fireworks, the Chongqing Ballet Troupe performed “Panda Baobao and Rabbit Beibei.” The guests present delivered good wishes and blessings in the Year of the Rabbit to audiences worldwide.