Recently, the Chinese Tourism Office in Paris and the Sino-French Arts Exchange Association jointly planned the “Hello China——Give You a Jasmine Flower” theme event, which was performed by French artists, martial arts champions and Chinese culture enthusiasts. It was held on the Pont des Arts along the Seine River in Paris.

It was still a little cold in Paris in spring. To the melody of the famous Chinese folk music Jasmine, French ballet dancer Emma, dressed in a white tutu, danced on the Pont des Arts, and against the backdrop of her partner Lucien's light green costume, she looked like a jasmine blossoming in full bloom under the sunlight, attracting pedestrians to stop and admire her. The soft rhythm of the music suddenly intensified, and Roger, a student of Chinese martial arts master Wu Bin (Jet Li's teacher), who has won many European and French martial arts competitions, broke the softness of the ballet with his athletic and powerful moves, highlighting the masculinity of the Chinese martial arts and earning the warm applause of the French audience. As the piece reached its climax, five French dancers wearing red gradient sleeves presented the softness of the Orient with their dynamic dance moves. Then, Anna and Emilien, two French musicians with beautiful voices, sang Jasmine in Chinese, bringing the whole performance to a climax. The melodious singing, bright red water sleeves, and smooth martial arts attracted more and more pedestrians, more and more French people gathered on the bridge, and people passing by on cruise ships underneath the bridge waved to the performance team, and the scene was very lively with a burst of laughter all the time.

April is the month of “Tea for Harmony——Yaji” activities, after the event, the Chinese Tourism Office in Paris set up a tea tasting session for the French people on the spot. The invited tea teacher dressed in Chinese costume presented a wonderful tea performance and demonstrated the nine steps of cups, tea appreciation, rinsing tools, putting tea leaves in, moisturizing tea leaves, brewing, pouring tea, filling tea leaves and tasting tea. The people on the spot were impressed by the bright, richly layered and jasmine-scented Chinese tea. The French artists and Chinese culture enthusiasts who participated in the event held paper fans with “Hello China” written in calligraphy, the French artists and Chinese culture enthusiasts enthusiastically conveyed their greetings to the audience.

This year is the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France and the Year of Cultural Tourism between China and France! China——Give You a Jasmine Flower” themed activity aims to let Chinese cultural elements such as Chinese dance, martial arts, folk music and tea art influence a wider range of French people, promote Sino-French cultural exchanges and mutual understanding, and promote people-to-people contact through the performance of Chinese classic songs by French artists and martial arts masters. According to statistics, a total of 11,000 people arrived on the day of the event, and since May 4, the Chinese Tourism Office in Paris has put the “Hello China” performance video and other videos on line through YouTube, Facebook, WeChat and other platforms since May 4 to promote the image of China as a cultural tourism destination to the French people.