PARIS, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- "It allows my French friends to discover Chinese culture and traditional cuisines," Zang Xiao, a Chinese citizen living and working in France, said, referring to her celebration of the Chinese New Year with other Chinese and French friends.
"I think that the Chinese New Year ... is always an important time to celebrate for us Chinese people. A lot of big cities organize events for the New Year. It helps to regroup the Chinese people in a foreign city to embrace the traditions," she said.
The Chinese New Year had traditionally been celebrated in France. But in 2020 and 2021, celebrations were shortened or cancelled due to the pandemic.
This year, festivities of the Chinese New Year are underway across France under COVID-19 restrictions.
The city hall of the 13th arrondissement of Paris, the district known as Chinatown, organizes a "Chinese New Year Week" from Feb. 2 to 13 with various events such as conferences, Chinese cinema screenings and the traditional lion dance. The city hall of the 6th arrondissement of Lyon organized a week for Chinese culture.
The celebrations of the Chinese New Year are conducted in accordance with COVID-19 restrictions. For example, for indoor activities, the vaccine pass is mandatory and masks must be worn.
"The COVID-19 restrictions play a big role in the festivities but the participation of the public will not be an issue," Alain Labat, president of the Federation of French-Chinese Associations based in Lyon, told Xinhua.
In Rennes, the Confucius Institute of Brittany organized a "Chinese Week" from Jan. 29 to Feb. 6 with a forum on Chinese culture and language and such events as food markets, conferences, art expositions and cinema screening of movies and documentaries about China.
In Bordeaux, Chinese lanterns were displayed along a pedestrian road downtown. Associations specialized in Chinese culture and language organized a Chinese New Year celebration on Jan. 29 with different workshops of Chinese painting and other cultural activities.
For Nicolas, Loane and Solene, citizens living in Bordeaux who only gave their first names, it is an important opportunity for French people to discover Chinese culture.
Both Loane and Solene studied in China for a year, and hold a bachelor's degree in Chinese studies respectively obtained from universities in Bordeaux and Marseille.
"In Qingdao, I celebrated the New Year with my Chinese friend and her family. I learned a lot about the traditions," Solene said.
Loane, who studied in Chengdu, said she remembered that many shops were closed during the Lunar New Year festivities, and that was when she realized the importance of this festival in China. ■