"Celebrating the Chinese New Year in Anhui" —Chinese and Foreign Friends Gather in Tongling to Welcome the 2026 Spring Festival

On January 23, the "Celebrating the Chinese New Year in Anhui" 2026 Spring Festival Get-together for Chinese and Foreign Friends was warmly launched at Liqiao Water Town in Yi'an District, Tongling City, Anhui Province. Sun Yong, Vice Governor of Anhui Province, attended the event and delivered a speech. More than 140 foreign friends from 59 countries and regions, including the United States, Germany, France and Canada, as well as compatriots from Hong Kong and Macao, gathered here to experience Anhui's cultural charm, celebrate the Spring Festival, and engage in exchanges and cooperation.

Scene of the "Celebrating the Chinese New Year in Anhui—Spring Festival Get-together for Chinese and Foreign Friends"

Photo by Zhong Lei

Foreign Friends Watching Lion Dance Performance 

Photo by Gao Bin

In his speech, Sun Yong noted that over the past year, the CPC Anhui Provincial Committee and the People's Government of Anhui Province have comprehensively deepened reform, expanded high-standard opening-up, and steadily advanced high-quality development. As a result, Anhui's external image and internal qualities have undergone rapid transformation, and solid progress has been made in building a Beautiful Anhui. He emphasized that these achievements would not have been possible without the care and support of friends from abroad. Looking ahead to 2026, Sun said that Anhui will earnestly implement the guiding principles of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, remain firmly committed to high-standard opening-up, and further deepen exchanges and cooperation with countries and regions around the world in areas such as economy and trade, science and technology, and culture and tourism. Anhui will continue to tell its stories well, enabling more overseas friends to learn about Anhui, visit Anhui, and fall in love with Anhui, and work together to create a bright future for the Anhui chapter of Chinese-style modernization.

Celebrating the Spring Festival with laughter and joy 

Photo by Zhong Lei

Co-hosted by the Foreign Affairs Office of Anhui Province (Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of Anhui Province) and the People's Government of Tongling City, the event was held in Liqiao Water Town, a destination rich in Huizhou-style architectural charm. Against the elegant backdrop of a Jiangnan water town, Chinese and foreign guests were immersed themselves in the festive atmosphere of the traditional Chinese Spring Festival and the unique cultural appeal of Anhui. At the event, guests enjoyed folk performances, savored the flavors of the Spring Festival, and shared moments of friendship. Laughter and lively interaction helped bring people closer together, while cultural exchange fostered mutual understanding and consensus on cooperation, making the gathering a vivid example of Anhui's efforts to expand opening-up and strengthen international friendship.

In recent years, Anhui has embraced the world with an open and inclusive approach, continuously expanding its international circle of friends and achieving fruitful results in economic and trade exchanges, scientific and technological cooperation, and cultural and tourism exchanges. The Spring Festival get-together not only conveyed New Year greetings from Anhui to friends at home and abroad, but also served as an important step in deepening international exchanges and promoting development through opening-up. It has built bridges of friendship between Anhui and the rest of the world and injected new vitality into cooperation across various fields. (Text by Jin Muyu)