Feature: Spring Festival gathering inspires Chinese people in Iran

Chinese Ambassador to Iran Chang Hua (L) distributes Spring Festival kits to overseas Chinese at the Chinese Embassy in Iran for the upcoming Spring Festival in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 10, 2023. (Xinhua/Gao Wencheng)

TEHRAN, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese people in Iran gathered on Tuesday at the Chinese embassy, decorated with such festive elements as red lanterns, to welcome the upcoming Spring Festival, the biggest celebration for most Chinese in a year.

Nearly 100 overseas Chinese in Iran, including students studying in Iranian universities, teachers from Confucius Institutes, and representatives from Chinese enterprises and media institutions, attended the celebration which features performances like songs and dances, poetry recitation, and the Taijiquan demonstration.

He Qiaoling, an overseas Chinese in Iran, said her most prominent feeling is happiness, and being together with compatriots makes her "very emotional."

"This event conveyed the warmth from my motherland," said Wang Danyu, a teacher at the Confucius Institute of Tehran University, adding it is like "celebrating the Spring Festival at home."

Wang Xinhua, also a teacher at the Confucius Institute, gave a performance of Taijiquan, a Chinese martial art, at the reunion, and received a warm welcome from the audience.

"It is a great honor to be able to showcase traditional culture at this event," Wang said, adding though in a foreign country, the singing and dancing created "strong hometown and festival atmosphere."

Chinese Ambassador to Iran Chang Hua said in his speech that he hopes the Chinese compatriots in Iran will continue to love China, support the development of their motherland, and make more contributions to deepening China-Iran practical cooperation and expanding people-to-people exchanges.

During the get-together, the ambassador and his wife also distributed Spring Festival kits to the representatives of overseas Chinese groups, and presented the children with panda dolls, pop-up books and other gifts. They also introduced celebration traditions to the children and led them to experience one of them by pasting Spring Festival Couplets beside the door.

The children, who were born or have lived in Iran for a long time, were overjoyed by such arrangements. Many hugged the gifts they received with smiles on their faces, and even asked to sleep with panda dolls after returning home. Though having lived in another country, they do not forget to learn Chinese culture, as many volunteered to recite famous Chinese poems on the stage.

After the get-together, Bai Teng, a Chinese student, told Xinhua that "the task of students is to learn useful knowledge and skills," expressing his determination to "contribute to China-Iran friendship and the development of our motherland."

Li Xuanxuan, another student, wished his motherland prosperity, and a giant step forward on the road to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Meanwhile, Li Mei, the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute of Tehran University, said that "I received love from the motherland through the event, and wish the motherland prosperity and a better tomorrow."