Chinese artists perform during a show titled "Happy Chinese New Year 2019" in Thessaloniki, Greece, Jan. 28, 2019. (Xinhua/Dimitris Tosidis)
ATHENS, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- A large group of Chinese artists performed a special and festive show for a "Happy Chinese New Year 2019" on Monday at Greek port city of Thessaloniki, the second largest city in the country.
The event was organized by the Chinese embassy in Greece and the Beijing Municipality, with the support of the Chinese Cultural Center in Athens, as well as the Chinese community and businesses.
It was held to enhance the cultural exchange between China and Greece and to welcome the Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, which begins on Feb. 5 and ends on Feb. 19 this year. The year 2019 is the year of the pig, according to the Chinese zodiac.
The show in Thessaloniki took place at the Royal Theater and the program included dance, acrobatics, traditional Chinese music, theater, opera and Kung Fu demonstration by martial arts fighters.
More than 30 artists from the Beijing Dance Academy, China's National Acrobatic Troupe, Chinese Traditional Music Orchestra and the Lon Yun Kung Fu Troupe did their best to impress the audience.
Every year Chinese artists come to Greece as envoys of the city of Beijing to showcase the culture of their country as part of the Chinese New Year celebration. This time, the program of the event started in Thessaloniki and will continue in Athens.
"We are very pleased to welcome a group of Chinese artists as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations. The event is free to the public and is sold out. Next year the event, which during the last three years only took place in Athens, will probably last two days," Stelios Konstantinides, co-producer of the show and organizer of cultural events, told Xinhua.