The Transmission of Culture Through Art: Painting a New Chapter— Our City's Youth Participate in the “Lantern Festival” Painting Exhibition in Hastings, New Zealand-Activities- 沈阳市人民政府外事办公室

The Transmission of Culture Through Art: Painting a New Chapter— Our City's Youth Participate in the “Lantern Festival” Painting Exhibition in Hastings, New Zealand

时间：2025-04-18 撰稿人：供稿部门：Shenyang Foreign Affairs Office

From April 6 to 13, the city of Hastings in New Zealand, friendly cooperative relation city of Shenyang, hosted a grand celebration for the “Lantern Festival” and organized a youth painting exhibition.

At the invitation of the Hastings District Council, Shenyang Foreign Affairs Office actively facilitated the participation of the Shenyang Radio and TV Station Children's Choir in the event. Four paintings with the theme of "Chinese Lanterns" were showcased in the exhibition, drawing many local citizens who stopped to admire and take photos. The young artists incorporated classic Chinese elements such as "lanterns," "tangyuan", and "pandas", presenting the charm of Chinese traditional culture through unique artistic language and childish brushstrokes.

The annual "Lantern Festival" event in Hastings was proposed and initiated by Councillor Kevin Watkins in 2010. Over the past 15 years, it has become a beloved tradition among the local community. This year's festival lasted 8 days and was on a scale far larger than previous years. In addition to the local residents, more than 22,000 visitors from cities like Auckland and Wellington attended the event. Visitors not only enjoyed the stunning Chinese lanterns and colorful paintings but also watched multiple Chinese cultural performances and tasted a variety of traditional Chinese foods.

This painting exhibition provided an opportunity for cultural exchange for our city's youth, creating an international platform for telling Chinese stories and promoting Chinese culture. It further deepened the cultural and youth exchanges between our city and Hastings, writing a new chapter in the friendship between the two cities.

This year marks the beginning of the second decade of the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and New Zealand. Moving forward, Shenyang Foreign Affairs Office will continue to implement the strategic consensus reached by the leaders of both countries, contributing to the development of a China-New Zealand relationship based on mutual respect, inclusiveness, focused cooperation, and shared development.