APECCM at Tanger’s “Happy Chinese New Year · Chinese Temple Fair”: Overflowing with Festive Spirit, Cultural Integration

On February 7 local time, the “Happy Chinese New Year · Chinese Temple Fair” hosted by the Centre culturel chinois de Rabat opened. Zhang Yashan, President of APECCM, attended the opening ceremony upon invitation and joined Chinese and international guests in launching the Spring Festival celebration. The two-day temple fair featured a variety of exciting activities, and a rich Chinese New Year atmosphere lit up Tanger.

The temple fair opened lively with a Chinese lion dance, full of vigor and festivity. The intangible cultural heritage interactive workshops gathered traditional crafts such as rope weaving, calligraphy, paper cutting, sugar painting, egg carving, and dough figurines; the food area was filled with aromas, and excellent performances including acrobatics, Sichuan opera, and shadow puppetry were staged in turn, allowing Chinese and international audiences to experience the unique charm of Chinese culture in an immersive way.

At the event, the calligraphy interaction presented by Chen Chaochen, Vice President of APECCM and a calligrapher and painter of the Chinese community in Morocco, became a focal point. Chen wrote the character for blessing and Chinese names on site with a brush, attracting a large crowd to stop and watch. Chinese and international children took the stage one after another and, under Chen’s hand-by-hand guidance, took up brushes to write, experiencing the beauty of Chinese characters stroke by stroke, as applause and cheers continued on site.

This event not only conveyed New Year blessings but also built a bridge for China-Morocco cultural exchange and people-to-people connectivity. APECCM actively participated throughout, using culture as a bond and New Year flavor as a medium to help Chinese culture take root in Morocco and continuously deepen the friendly people-to-people ties between the two countries.