At the Start of Spring, Longhua Baishilong Music Park blends intangible cultural heritage with commercial districts, harmonizes music with folk customs, and merges technology with tradition. Exploring temple fairs, enjoying camping, and shopping for Chinese New Year gifts, friends from China and overseas converged in Longhua District to partake in the joyous celebration of the Chinese New Year.

On the afternoon of February 4th, “Chinese New Year, Global Festival” Celebration of the Spring Festival with Friends at Home and Abroad in 2024 kicked off at the Baishilong Music Park in the Longhua District. Cao Saixian, Director of the Office of Foreign Affairs Committee of the CPC Shenzhen Municipal Committee, Lei Weihua, Deputy Secretary and Mayor of Longhua District, along with district leaders Lan Tao, Huang Limin, Zhao Yanyan, and more than 400 Chinese and overseas friends, as well as representatives of businesses, participated in the event.

In her speech, Cao Saixian extended a sincere invitation to friends from around the world, welcoming everyone to experience the international charm of Shenzhen, a city born of reform and strengthened by innovation. Serving as a gateway of China’s Reform and Opening-up and a height of internationalization, Shenzhen will seamlessly integrate global perspective, international conventions, and overseas expertise with Chinese characteristics, styles, and grandeur. This aims to enhance the city’s internationalization and let more people understand, love, and come to Shenzhen.

Lei Weihua extended New Year blessings to the guests and overseas friends present. He stated that over the past year, Longhua has achieved outstanding results in international cooperation and internationalization, rapidly becoming a dynamic, vibrant, and innovative international exchange hub. Looking to the future, Longhua District will intensify efforts to expand high-level opening-up to the outside world, promote internationalization with higher standards, and create an internationalized urban area with higher requirements. This will make life more enjoyable and work more enjoyable for friends from home and overseas. Longhua welcomes more international friends to visit and more internationally renowned enterprises to settle here, jointly creating a splendid picture.

The event was themed around the Spring Festival of the Year of the Loong (Chinese dragon), combining the characteristics of Baishilong Music Park to create special zones such as “Welcome the Year of the Loong”, “The Loong Soars”, and “Bright Future Approaches”. Along the way, there were 50 experiential booths encompassing cultural creation, cuisine, folk traditions, business districts, services, and organizations, as well as dozens of exciting cultural flash performances. This fully explored Shenzhen’s intangible cultural heritage and Longhua District’s international resources, creatively integrating modern characteristic business districts and high-tech innovative products. Through in-depth folk experiences, colorful entertainment activities, and spectacular Chinese and foreign performances, the event created a festive atmosphere, bidding farewell to the old and ushering in a new spirit, allowing friends from China and overseas to immerse themselves in the Chinese New Year.

This event was hosted by the Foreign Affairs Office of Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government and the People’s Government of Shenzhen Longhua District, and co-sponsored by the Longhua District Foreign Affairs Office, District Culture, Radio, Television, Tourism, and Sports Bureau, Minzhi Sub-district Office, Shenzhen Longhua Construction Development Co., Ltd., and Luhu Cultural, Sports and Tourism Development Co., Ltd. Co-organizers included the District Publicity Department, District Industry and Information Technology Bureau, District Urban Administration and Law Enforcement Bureau, and District Construction and Promotion Center for Major Regions. Support for the event came from businesses such as the Bank of China, Huabao New Energy Limited, Purcotton, Shenzhen Xueji Fried Goods Co., Ltd., and Shenzhen Longyang Electric Co., Ltd.