Chen Hai (R), Chinese ambassador to Myanmar, and Yangon Region Chief Minister U Soe Thein attend the opening of the Happy Chinese New Year event at the China Cultural Center in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 4, 2024. The China Cultural Center in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon, adorned with vibrant red cultural decorations, bustled on Sunday with visitors enjoying the Year of Dragon Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Myo Kyaw Soe)

The China Cultural Center in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon, adorned with vibrant red cultural decorations, bustled on Sunday with visitors enjoying the Year of Dragon Spring Festival.

Phoo Pwint Khine, 32, said, "This is my first time attending such a New Year celebration event at the cultural center. I'm experiencing their traditional culture and admiring their calligraphy and paper cutting works."

"I came here at the invitation of my Chinese language teacher. I have been learning Chinese for over three years now," she said.

"This kind of event serves as a platform for fostering friendship between the two countries," the Myanmar resident told Xinhua on Sunday.

"I enjoy the dragon dances and Chinese songs, especially those accompanied by the Chinese zither," she said, adding that despite not being a Chinese, she had participated in Spring Festival celebrations with her Chinese friends in the past years.

Fifteen-year-old Zeyar Naing, a Chinese boy from Bago region, expressed his excitement about attending the Spring Festival celebrations in Yangon with his elder brother.

"This is my first time joining such a New Year celebration at the cultural center. However, I have previously participated in the celebrations in my hometown Thone Sal," he said.

"Dragon dance performances are the things I like most in the Spring Festival celebrations," he said. "I also enjoy the traditions like receiving red envelopes and New Year Eve's dinner."

"I got a lot of cultural experience by participating in the event," he said, adding that he would share this experience with his friends.

Thet Htar San, an eight-year-old girl who entertained visitors with Wushu performances during the event, said, "I'm in Grade two. My teacher brought me here."

"I'm happy. I also played with toys and enjoyed going around with my friends," the Myanmar girl in a traditional Chinese dress told Xinhua.

The Spring Festival event, organized by the Embassy of China in Myanmar at the China Cultural Center in Yangon, was adorned with red lanterns, couplets and various styles of Chinese calligraphy.

Chen Hai, Chinese ambassador to Myanmar, said that the Happy Chinese New Year event has served as a platform for friends from China and the world to celebrate traditional festivals and share Chinese culture.

At the event, Yangon Region Chief Minister U Soe Thein extended wishes for happiness and peace to Chinese people residing in Myanmar, as well as to Chinese citizens in China and around the world on this Chinese New Year occasion.

The event, which included a Spring Festival bazaar, a dragon eye-dotting, Myanmar traditional dance performances, dragon and lion dance performances, Wushu performances and cultural booths among other activities, attracted over 200 people.

The 2024 Chinese Lunar New Year, the Year of Dragon, falls on Feb. 10.

Visitors learn paper cutting during the opening of the Happy Chinese New Year event at the China Cultural Center in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 4, 2024. The China Cultural Center in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon, adorned with vibrant red cultural decorations, bustled on Sunday with visitors enjoying the Year of Dragon Spring Festival.  (Xinhua/Myo Kyaw Soe)

Visitors paint Chinese opera masks during the opening of the Happy Chinese New Year event at the China Cultural Center in Yangon, Myanmar, Feb. 4, 2024. The China Cultural Center in Myanmar's commercial hub Yangon, adorned with vibrant red cultural decorations, bustled on Sunday with visitors enjoying the Year of Dragon Spring Festival. (Xinhua/Myo Kyaw Soe)