The Dragon Boat Festival 2022 was organized by the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in Kolkata and various local Chinese community organizations including “India China Cultural Development Association”.

More than 1000 people participated in the festival, including the Consul General of PRC in Kolkata Mr. Zha Liyou, West Bengal Government Disaster Management and Civil Defence Minister Mr. Javed Ahmed Khan, Members of Indian Parliament Mr. Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, and Mr. Nadimul Haque, CPI(M) State Secretary of West Bengal, Mohammed Salim, Former Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi,  Mr. Kalyan Kumar Chakravarty, Former Secretary of the Central Vigilance Commission of India Mr. Anindo Majumdar, Former deputy chief secretary of West Bengal Mr. Rajpal Singh Kahlon, Vice Chairman of West Bengal Forest Development Corporation Ms. Maria Fernandez, Diplomats from Thailand, Bangladesh and Bhutan  Consulates-General in Kolkata, President of All India Overseas Chinese Association Chen Yaohua and representatives of Chinese communities and Chinese companies, and others.

Because of safety and security concerns, the Dragon Boat Race was canceled. CG Zha and the distinguished guests presented awards to five outstanding Indian Chinese students and encouraged them to achieve greater academic success.

Zha Liyou welcomed friends to the traditional Chinese Dragon Boat Festival with warm words. Zha gave a brief overview of the festival’s history and customs and wished everyone good health and happiness. Zha also expressed his delight that, after six editions of the Dragon Boat Festival in Kolkata, this year’s event has grown into another landmark cultural event that is completely integrated with the East Indian community and a friendship in town dedicated to people-to-people exchanges between China and India.

According to CG Zha Liyou, the world’s instability and uncertainty are at an all-time high, and the global community is facing more serious challenges than ever before. To meet these challenges, all nations should work together and make joint efforts. They will need not only economic and technological strength but also cultural and civilizational strength to achieve this. As the two most populous ancient civilizations, China and India should be at the forefront to demonstrate their leadership.

CG Zha Liyou went on to say that the Chinese Consulate-General in Kolkata has dedicated itself wholeheartedly to the promotion of Sino-Indian friendship, which has been reciprocated by all friends present today. This Dragon Boat Race is living proof of what Chinese leaders once said: “China and India do not pose a threat to each other, but they provide each other with development opportunities.” As a result, everyone here should strive to make positive contributions to the healthy development of the bilateral relationship between China and India.

Following award distribution to winning racers and scholarship distribution to top Chinese community students, the gathering watched the splendid lion dance and special theatrical performances with great interest. The evening ended with a brilliant performance of Chinese and Indian artists.