Belgium celebrates 'China Day' event

European students perform Chinese folk dance. More than 600 European guests and diplomats attended China Day, a public diplomatic event organized by China Mission to EU on Saturday in Belgium's Pairi Daiza, which has hosted two Chinese pandas since February this year. [Fu Jing/China Daily]

More than 600 guests from European Union institutions and Belgian government, diplomats in Brussels, think tank experts and European students have attended China Day, a public diplomatic event organized by China Mission to EU on Saturday in Belgium's Pairi Daiza, which has hosted two Chinese pandas since February.

The daylong event consisted of watching pandas, Chinese folk music and dance performances, painting and calligraphy practice, tea art performance and lucky draw.

The cozy house of panda Xing Hui and Hao Hao was formally inaugurated by Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan in March during their European tour.

"That the Pairi Daiza Zoo is chosen to be the venue of today's gathering is of special significance. It is a symbol of friendship," said China's Ambassador to EU Yang Yanyi at the opening of the event on Saturday.

The China Day event was followed up by the first edition of EU-China friendship match of table tennis, another public diplomatic event organized by China mission to EU this month.