Spring Festival reception with folk concert held in Dusseldorf

China

Spring Festival reception with folk concert held in Dusseldorf

2026-02-24 16:13 Last Updated At：02-25 00:27

A Spring Festival reception featuring a folk music concert was held at the Chinese Consulate General in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sunday, bringing together around 1,500 guests from various sectors, including local overseas Chinese.

The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, fell on Feb 17 this year, ushering in the Year of the Horse, the seventh animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

Around 1,500 guests from various sectors in Germany, including local overseas Chinese, attended the event.

Dusseldorf's First Deputy Mayor Josef Hinkel extended his congratulations on the Year of the Horse, praising the long-standing friendly cooperation between North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and China, and expressing willingness to further expand bilateral exchanges and cooperation on the existing basis.

"Happy Chinese New Year to everyone. The Year of the Horse symbolizes vitality and strength, exactly what we strive for. We will continue to maintain and deepen our close partnership with China and with Dusseldorf's sister city Chongqing in southwest China," said Josef Hinkel.

The Wuxi Chinese Orchestra from east China's Jiangsu Province delivered a wonderful performance for the audience, featuring a selection of classic Chinese folk music pieces.

Using traditional Chinese music as a bridge, the concert radiated new brilliance through its interaction with the European audience.

Shenzhou-23 astronauts board spaceship ahead of launch

The three astronauts of the Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceflight mission have boarded the spacecraft for a flight to China’s Tiangong space station.

The Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship is scheduled to blast off at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT) from northwest China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center.

The three Chinese astronauts, commander Zhu Yangzhu, spacecraft pilot Zhang Zhiyuan and payload specialist Lai Ka-ying, climbed aboard the spaceship with the help of technicians.

Following the launch, the astronauts will complete an in-orbit rotation with the outgoing Shenzhou-21 crew, and one of them will conduct a one-year in-orbit stay, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

Notably, astronaut Lai Ka-ying is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program, and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.