GUANGZHOU, China, Feb. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Guangzhou, known as "Flower City", has attracted more and more people around the world to come and enjoy its traditional celebration of the Spring Festival, the New Year's day and a major holiday in China's lunar calendar. This year, Guangzhou selected and invited 20 families worldwide from 5,001 applications from the United States, Canada, Malaysia, and Taiwan, as well as other provinces outside Guangdong. Those 20 families, called "guest families", had a typical Lingnan-style Spring Festival with 20 "host families": strolling around the flower fair, tasting Cantonese food, enjoying folk-customs and having a big feast on Chinese New Year's Eve.

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With a long history, the Spring Festival Flower Fair in Guangzhou is unique in China. Visiting the fair and buying flowers has been a New Year tradition for people in Guangzhou for hundreds of years. With "Enjoy Spring Festival in Guangzhou, enjoy beautiful blossoms in Flower City" as its slogan, Guangzhou has been organizing an event called "Hua Cheng You Hao Ren Jia" for 3 years, which means "The invitation of friendly families of 'Flower City,'" to increase awareness of the charm of Guangzhou's Spring Festival and traditional culture.

Starting from the annual Spring Festival Flower Fair in Liwan District, the "guests families" were very touched by the fun tour of historical Lingnan architecture and folk performances like the "dragon and lion dance" and "cod fish dance". The splendid scenery of the Pearl River at night and the lighting concert at "Flower City Square" near Haixinsha Wharf impressed every one of the "guest families". This event has offered an unforgettable memory for those 20 "guest families" as well as the 20 "host families".

Many of the "guest families" think the Spring Festival in Guangzhou is more traditional and interesting than in other cities in China. Chinese-American Feng Ganhua, president of the United Nations Commission on History, Culture and Art Development, was born in Guangzhou but immigrated to the US at the age of 10. Each year overseas Chinese organize the float parade during the Spring Festival in New York. This was the first time he experienced the tradition of the Flower Fair in his hometown and he was so excited. Gwendal and his wife from Canada said, "Guangzhou is as attractive as Cantonese food. We are touched by its culture."

The 20 "guest families" found Guangzhou an unforgettable city and hoped to have a chance to come again. Guangzhou, with its hospitality and historical accumulation, impressed those guests form different places, who have found its charm is the combination of modernity and culture and the confidence to develop into an international center.

SOURCE Guangzhou Municipal Publicity Department