Chengdu promotional event featuring pandas and food held in Europe

A promotional event sponsored by the Chengdu city government is held in Athens, Greece and Berlin, Germany to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year. [Photo provided to China Daily]

A promotional event sponsored by the Chengdu city government was recently held in Athens, Greece and Berlin, Germany to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, which falls on Feb 5 this year.

The event is part of the "Happy Chinese New Year" cultural program, a worldwide activity celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year. It has been hosted by China's Ministry of Culture and other Chinese authorities since 2009.

Featuring giant pandas and Sichuan cuisine, the event is meant to promote the unique traditional culture, cuisine and tourist attractions of Chengdu.

Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, is well-known as the home of giant pandas and was recognized as a city of gastronomy by UNESCO in 2010.

Local citizens are given a taste of freshly-cooked classic Chengdu cuisine, including egg-baked cakes, mapo tofu, and panda-shaped tangyuan (glutinous rice balls). [Photo provided to China Daily]

To celebrate the Spring Festival, a series of traditional activities such as Sichuan Opera, paper-cutting, bamboo weaving, sugar painting and tea art were held during the event.

Locals were also invited to taste freshly-cooked classic Chengdu cuisine, including egg-baked cakes, mapo tofu, and panda-shaped tangyuan (glutinous rice balls).

During the event, Chengdu and Athens formally signed an agreement to establish a friendly cooperative relationship.

Some traditional artwork, including paper-cuttings, bamboo weavings and tea art, are showcased during a promotional event recently held by Chengdu in Athens and Berlin. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chengdu officials believe that the two parties have strong cooperation potential in fields such as trade, logistics, tourism, culture, art, and archaeology.

A Chengdu photo exhibition was also held at the China Cultural Center in Berlin during the event, displaying 45 pictures of the city's urban landscape, cultural attractions and natural scenery, as well as its creative products. The exhibition will run until Feb 28.

Daphne, a Greek lawyer who worked for a law firm in Shanghai for several years, said the promotional event taught her a lot about Chengdu.

"I served a number of clients from Chengdu when I was at the law firm," said Daphne, adding that she hopes her current employer will open operations in the city.

Hertus, a German tourism magazine publisher, also attended the promotional event.

"I knew Spring Festival was an important day for the Chinese people," he said, "but it is through Chengdu paper cutting, sugar painting and Sichuan Opera that I was able to understand the true cultural meaning of the festival."

The event is expected to further enhance Chengdu's popularity and influence throughout Europe, encourage more people to travel to the city, and attract more companies and investment, helping build it into an international hub, said the organizers.