MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. The Chinese New Year festival, the first of a series of events to be held as part of the Years of Culture of Russia and China in 2024 and 2025, has kicked off in downtown Moscow.

The opening ceremony was attended by officials from the Moscow city government, the Russian Foreign Ministry, and the Chinese embassy in Russia.

Special venues have been organized and decorated in the Chinese style in central Moscow to host festival events until February 18. "The first broad celebration of the Chinese New Year in the Russian capital city will be a milestone event in relations between the two countries and mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic ties," the press service of Moscow’s committee on tourism said.

According to Deputy Mayor of Moscow Natalia Sergunina, the program of the festival features more than 300 separate events, such as master classes, guided tours, theatrical performances, musical and cooking shows. "China is one of the most promising areas for the development of tourism and partner relations in general. In 2023, this country was the first among foreign states in terms of tourists visiting Moscow. We hope that this year the tourist flow will continue to increase thanks to our joint programs," the committee quoted her as saying.

During the festival, Moscow will be decorated in red and gold colors, the committee’s chairman, Yevgeny Kozlov, said. "Visitors will be able to get a taste of eastern culture. More than a hundred restaurants joined this festival. Elements of Chinese culture - calligraphy, Chinese music - will be displayed at numerous venues in the center of the city," he said, adding that he hopes that this festival will be "the beginning of a new tradition." "I am sure that within the Years of Friendship between China and Russia, which were declared by our leaders this and next year, we will see a lot of interesting events both for Moscow residents and tourists from other regions, and for tourists from other countries," Kozlov noted.