In celebration of the 2018 “Happy Chinese New Year” festival, China Arts and Entertainment Group organized and dispatched many domestic arts groups to multiple cities in the nine countries of the US, Thailand, Malta, Jordan, the UK, Italy, France, Belgium, Nepal and the Taiwan region of China, from January 1 to February 25, to entertain the local people with colorful performances and warm the world with a joyful festival atmosphere.

A scene of the “Happy Chinese New Year” window display in the Empire State Building

The series of art exhibitions the 2018 “Happy Chinese New Year” festival not only highlighted the transformation and innovative development of excellent Chinese traditional culture, but also showcased fine works of art that combine Chinese cultural tradition with the cultural spirit of the new era, promoting the global influence of Chinese culture.

The “Chinese Twelve Zodiac Culture and Creativity Exhibition”, which opened on January 12, presented unique Chinese zodiac culture to the Maltese through decorative arts, firsthand experience and performance demonstrations, as well as three Chinese intangible cultural heritage skills: woodblock printing, paper-cutting and shadow play. "A Panorama of Chinese Comic Strips - Connected Images from Abroad", launched at the Belgian Comics Art Museum on February 13, summarized the history of Chinese comics during the 20th century and presented it to Europe for the first time.

The crowd in front of the “Chinese Twelve Zodiac Culture and Creativity Exhibition”

Zhai Jun, Chinese Ambassador to France, and Philippe Houzé, CEO of Galeries Lafayette Group, attended the opening ceremony of the window art exhibition.

Compared with previous years, 2018 “Happy Chinese New Year” art exhibitions not only were larger, but also paid more attention to interaction and integration with local culture. For instance, 12 artworks themed on the renowned Chinese painting A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains by Wang Ximeng of the Northern Song Dynasty, including traditional brocades and costumes, were exhibited in the 11 shop windows at Galeries Lafayette in Paris from February 8 to 26, where they blended with French culture.

The approach to the exhibitions embodied Chinese values in the new era, such as the principle of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and build a community of shared future for mankind.

A screenshot of the dynamic window exhibition of A Panorama of Rivers and Mountains

The “Happy Chinese New Year” festival also opened a gate for Chinese creative cultural products to embrace the international market. In recent years, the festival has attached much importance to creative design and cultural trade, and launched a series of fine works of art with Chinese characteristics. Apart from distinctive art exhibitions, this year’s festival encouraged domestic cultural enterprises and societal forces to display their special programs on the international stage.

The festival initiated auctions for the exhibited creations this year. The “China shopwindow art exhibition” in the flagship shop of Galeries Lafayette, the most influential outlet of the largest department store group in France, has provided a high-level platform for the popularization of Chinese creative cultural products and laid a sound foundation for foreign cultural trade.

Along with its localization, marketization and branding development, the “Happy Chinese New Year” art exhibition has continually boosted the quality and level of Chinese creative cultural products and increased understanding and cooperation with a view to wider dissemination of Chinese culture.

Dragon Boat Racing, an award-winning Chinese dance-drama, was staged and well-received in the Eisenhower Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC. 

 The Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra performed in the concert hall of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Ulan Muqir from Otog Front Banner in Inner Mongolia performed “Propitious Prairie” in the China Cultural Center in Bangkok.