On June 4, the Chinese Embassy in Luxembourg, Luxembourg Remisi, Schengen and Perle, Germany jointly hosted the first Luxembourg International Dragon Boat Festival in Remihi am Moselle, located at the junction of Rwanda, France and Germany.
The event was co-organized by the Luxembourg Chinese Cultural Center and the Eurasia Schengen Group, and co-organized by the Luxembourg Confucius Institute and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Culture and Tourism Department "Tea and the World" and the magnificent Guangxi Exhibition Troupe. Eleven teams composed of boatmen from 12 countries, including China and Rwanda, participated in the dragon boat race, and thousands of local people participated in the event.
Between the green water, dragon boat racing. The drums beat the spring thunder, stirring people's hearts. The audience cheered for the crew and the atmosphere was warm. Local people and overseas Chinese watch traditional tea performances, ethnic songs and dances, dragon and lion dances, and immerse themselves in traditional Chinese culture.
In his speech, Chinese Ambassador to Luxembourg Hua Ning thanked friends from all walks of life in China and Rwanda for their hard work in preparing for this event, saying that the Dragon Boat Festival is the first traditional festival in China to be inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which is not only a precious cultural treasure for China but also for all mankind. It is hoped that the Luxembourg International Dragon Boat Festival will become a local traditional festival and attract more tourists to participate. He pointed out that the friendship between the Chinese and Romanian peoples is an important foundation of China-Rwanda relations and a distinctive feature of bilateral relations. The Moselle River flows through the three countries of Ludfa, and the region has great potential for multicultural experience, beautiful natural landscapes, convenient public transportation, and the development of new tourism formats integrating cruises, cycling, hiking, camping, fishing, and folk culture experience. At present Chinese people are committed to realizing Chinese-style modernization and pursuing high-quality development and high-quality life. It is hoped that China and Rwanda will deepen cultural and tourism cooperation, promote more Chinese tourists to visit the Mosel area, and welcome more and more Luxembourg tourists to visit China.
Luxembourg's Minister of Tourism Lex Delles said that the exchange of Rwanda Chinese is of great significance. In the past three years, Rwanda and China have planned to hold cultural tourism activities such as the Luxembourg International Dragon Boat Festival many times, but they have been postponed several times due to the impact of the new crown epidemic. Luxembourg's Moselle River has a favorable geographical condition, which provides excellent conditions for holding dragon boat races. With the joint efforts of all parties, the event was finally successfully held, wishing the participants good results and promoting friendly exchanges between people.
Jacques Sith, Mayor of Luxembourg Remihi, said that he was very pleased to see so many tourists gathered in Remihi, which reflected the unique charm of the Dragon Boat Festival. Remihi City is a tourist destination with beautiful scenery and rich activities, and welcomes more tourists from China and other countries to visit here.
After fierce dragon boat competition, Luxembourg Sports Institute, Lu Cargo Airlines and ICBC Europe won the first, second and third places respectively.
China Central Television, Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily, and Radio and Television Luxembourg reported on the event.
Source: Chinese Embassy in Luxembourg