Cultural activities held in Cairo to mark Chinese New Year

CAIRO, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- A celebration was held in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Saturday evening to mark the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 10 this year.

The event, sponsored by the China Cultural Center in Cairo, featured performances of Chinese folk music and dances. Young Egyptians joined the event in traditional Chinese outfits, wrote their names in Chinese, savored Chinese cuisine, and participated in cultural activities from Chinese calligraphy and painting to paper-cutting and tea-tasting.

Speaking at the event, Yang Ronghao, the director of the center and cultural counselor for the Chinese embassy in Egypt, noted that Egyptians are becoming more interested in attending Chinese cultural activities, which he attributed to the fast-growing China-Egypt relations in recent years.

The center will continue to promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and Egypt, he said.

The event was attended by about 80 participants from seven Egyptian provinces.