People worldwide embrace Dragon Year Spring Festival celebration

Vibrant worldwide celebrations

People worldwide are embracing vibrant celebrations in this year's Spring Festival -- from the bustling streets in Zurich, Switzerland, to the colorful events in Harare, Zimbabwe, the air is filled with excitement.

Michael Hitz, a Swiss national, joined his Chinese neighbor at a Spring Festival event in Zurich, Switzerland, where he enjoyed Chinese delicacies. "Authentic Chinese food is indispensable for Lunar New Year events like today," he said.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people from different communities gather in a Year of Dragon celebration event organized by the Chinese Traditional Culture Association of Zurich.

Participants enjoyed a cultural feast of traditional Chinese art, including children's chorus, guzheng (a Chinese plucked string instrument), dance and martial arts, before indulging in over 20 varieties of Chinese delicacies.

Lu Jinlian, president of the Chinese Traditional Culture Association of Zurich, told Xinhua that approximately 230 guests shared the hybrid celebration event.

In Zimbabwe, vibrant local dances and drum performances were presented at the China-Zimbabwe Friendship High School in Harare, the country's capital, days before the Spring Festival to celebrate the Year of the Dragon.

At the scene, local students attending the event enjoyed the opportunity to learn Chinese martial arts, and they were also awed by a Chinese martial arts performance by a visiting troupe from the Henan Provincial Shaolin Wushu Training Center.

"Today, I joined the Chinese Kung Fu group. The martial art is difficult, but it's amazing," said Brenda Moyo, a student from the school.

A troupe from central China's Henan province staged a colorful show during the Chinese New Year celebrations at Furi Lebu Railway Station, west of the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Feb. 3.

A Chinese language student at Addis Ababa University, Temesgen Yitayew, said he was delighted to see the acrobatics performance.

"As you can see, I am carrying the national flags of China and Ethiopia to portray that there are growing cultural and people-to-people ties between the two countries," Yitayew said.

Abdi Zenebe, chief executive officer of the Ethio-Djibouti Railway Share Company, told Xinhua that the show has brought a festive vibe to the railway station and surrounding community.