The 2025 Happy Spring Festival fair grandly opened at the China Cultural Center in Laos on Jan. 16. As one of the “Zhiyin Hubei” serial events, it is themed “Hubei Meets Laos,” and jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Department of Culture and Tourism of Hubei Province, and the China Cultural Center in Laos. Chinese Ambassador to Laos Fang Hong, Lao Deputy Minister of Information, Culture, and Tourism Vansy(待查实), and Lao Deputy Minister of the Central Publicity Department and Editor-in-Chief of the Pasaxon NewspaperVansay attended the event. Representatives from the cultural, tourism, and educational institutions of Laos, foreign embassies including the Australia embassy in Laos, Chinese institutions and enterprises, overseas Chinese, and media also joined the opening ceremony.
In her address, Ambassador Fang emphasized the event’s role as a vital platform to strengthen China-Laos friendship and cultural exchange, urging deeper cooperation to advance the construction of a shared future of the two nations.
Dong Yong, vice dean of the School of Music, Jianghan University, was the choreographer of the event. Dance teacher Li Da and students Wang Changle, Hu Lu, You Menghe, Wan Shiyun, and Zhang Zhuofan performed the opening dance Joyous Chinese New Year, the group dance Spring Lotus Festivity, and the dance with song Everlasting Friendship.
The spectacular opening ceremony won high acclaim from attendees. They said the event not only demonstrated the charm of Chinese culture, but also enhanced the Lao people's understanding and recognition of Chinese culture.
Wang Changle, one of the performers, said, “It’s an honor to contribute to this event before graduation. Our team’s unity and hard work paid off, and the audience’s enthusiastic applause filled us with pride as JHU representatives.” Fellow performer Wan Shiyun added, “Showcasing Hubei’s ethnic culture through dance to Lao friends was a privilege. Representing our university in this cross-border exchange is a profound source of pride.”
This is the first-ever visit of a Hubei provincial cultural and tourism delegation to Laos, and also the Southeast Asian nation’s inaugural UNESCO-recognized Spring Festival celebration. The opening ceremony featured performances exclusively by artists and inheritors of intangible cultural heritage from Hubei province.
The “Happy Spring Festival” program is a flagship cultural diplomacy initiative by China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism. It has planned over 400 events in 2025 across 70 plus countries. The fair in Laos , titled “Hubei Meets Laos,” is the curtain-raiser for the year’s global celebrations to demonstrate the charm of China’s Spring Festival culture.
Underpinned by robust institutional support from Jianghan University and its School of Music, this cultural initiative epitomizes the university’s intensified international engagement strategy. The Laos event not only showcased the exemplary professional competence of the disciplines of music and dance of JHU, but significantly amplified the institution’s academic prestige. Capitalizing on this momentum, the Conservatory of Music intends to deepen global perspectives in talent cultivation and broaden cross-cultural academic collaborations, with the overarching objective of positioning Jianghan University as a pivotal force in advancing international cultural discourse.