NAGOYA, Japan, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A three-day celebration for the coming Chinese Spring Festival kicked off in Nagoya, central Japan, on Saturday.
The celebration was held at Hisaya Square in downtown Nagoya, where red lanterns and flags hung high.
A number of Chinese artists gave shows on a makeshift stage, performing face-changing stunt of Sichuan opera, acrobatics and lion dances.
Onlookers snapped their cameras and cellphones to capture the moment.
People also lined up before dozens of booths around the square which sold dumplings, candy gourds and Chinese food.
A number of exhibitions were also held at the square, including a show featuring photos of Chinese scenery shot by Japanese photographers.
"The three-day festival is expected to attract a total of some 120,000 visitors this year, including overseas Chinese, as well as Japanese citizens and tourists from other countries," said Wang Libao, member of the executive committee of the Spring Festival celebration.
"The yearly Spring Festival celebration in Nagoya has helped promote understanding between the Chinese and Japanese people and boost the local economy," said Hideaki Ohmura, governor of Aichi prefecture of Japan.
Aichi prefecture, with Nagoya as its capital, has a rather close relationship with China, with nine of its cities having sister cities in China, and tens of thousands of Chinese living in the prefecture, he said.
"This year marks the 45th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations, and next year marks the 40th anniversary of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship between China and Japan. The two countries are facing new opportunities for enhancing bilateral ties," said Cheng Yonghua, Chinese ambassador to Japan.
"I hope that cultural exchanges, such as spring festival celebrations in Japan, will flourish and make new contributions to improving bilateral relations," he added.
Overseas Chinese have been holding Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in Nagoya since 2007, and the celebrations have also become a grand event for the local people.
