China News Service, New York, February 8The Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in New York and the Empire State Building in New York jointly held a lighting ceremony to celebrate the New Year on the 8th. Huang Ping, Consul General of the People's Republic of China in New York, and his wife, and Christina Qiu, Executive Vice President of the Empire State Building, attended the event.
In her welcoming speech, Christina Qiu said that every year during the Chinese New Year, the Empire State Building and the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in New York will jointly light up this world-famous landmark. Tonight, the Empire State Building will once again shine in "China Red" to send sincere Chinese New Year greetings to everyone. I wish you all a prosperous, happy and prosperous Year of the Dragon.
Huang Ping said in his speech that the Spring Festival is the oldest and most solemn traditional festival of the Chinese nation, which incorporates the beautiful sustenance of Chinese sons and daughters for family, happiness and hope, which are also the common values that each of us cherishes. With one in five people around the world celebrating the Chinese New Year and New York City making the Chinese New Year a holiday, this traditional Chinese festival is increasingly expanding to the world.
Huang Ping said that over the past 24 years, the Empire State Building has lit up the "China Red" to send New Year blessings, demonstrating the friendship between the American and Chinese people and the openness and tolerance of the American people to cultural diversity. As a New York landmark, the Empire State Building attracts a large number of visitors from all over the world every year. In the first half of this year, China and the United States will hold a high-level tourism dialogue to vigorously promote people-to-people exchanges between the two sides and create a good atmosphere for the development of China-US relations.
Huang Ping said that the dragon is a symbol of auspiciousness in traditional Chinese culture. As the Year of the Dragon is approaching, the two sides should work together to strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, promote mutual understanding between the Chinese and US peoples, and bring bilateral relations back on the right track, so that the San Francisco Vision can be brought into reality and accumulate more positive energy for the healthy, stable and sustainable development of China-US relations.
During the ceremony, the Huang Ping couple and Christina Chiu jointly raised their rocker arms and lit a miniature model of the Empire State Building lanterns. The artists of the New York Eight Board Orchestra presented wonderful traditional Chinese folk music and dances such as "Purple Bamboo Tune", "Joyful Yangyang" and "Backgammon" to the guests, showing the ancient charm of the Chinese style.
On the first floor of the Empire State Building, the Huang Ping couple and Christina Qiu also unveiled the Empire State Building's 2024 "Happy New Year" Zodiac window display. With the theme of "Dragons Soaring in the Four Seas" and the design inspiration of Chinese shadow puppetry, the exhibition combines the elements of the four seasons to interpret the auspicious meaning of Chinese dragon culture with a rich visual language.
That night, the roof of the 443-meter-tall Empire State Building was lit up in "China Red" as scheduled to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Dragon. Since 1976, the top floor of the Empire State Building has maintained a tradition of commemorating or celebrating various holidays or events by lighting up different colors.
**: China News Network
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