People perform in a gala show titled "Let's Share the Chinese New Year Together" in Sofia, Bulgaria, Jan. 26, 2019. Some 500 Bulgarians and Chinese attended the gala show to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival. The event, jointly organized by the China Cultural Center, Confucius Institute in Sofia, and city government departments of Ningbo and Quanzhou, was also dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and Bulgaria. (Xinhua/Zhan Xiaoyi)

SOFIA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Some 500 Bulgarians and Chinese on Saturday celebrated the upcoming Spring Festival by attending and applauding the gala show titled "Let's Share the Chinese New Year Together".

The event, jointly organized by the China Cultural Center, Confucius Institute in Sofia, and city governmental departments of Ningbo and Quanzhou, was also dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and Bulgaria.

During the two-hour long spectacle held in one of the most prestigious hotels in Sofia, artists from China and Bulgaria performed traditional Chinese songs, dances and martial arts.

A congratulatory address on behalf of Bulgaria's Vice President Iliyana Yotova, which was read at the beginning of the show, said that for 70 years, Bulgaria and China enjoyed very good diplomatic relations.

Culture was the best tool for mutual understanding and rapprochement of the two peoples, Yotova said in the address.

"Therefore, let us continue to promote the development of cultural ties between the Bulgarian and Chinese peoples," Yotova said.

Yan Jianqun, Chinese charge d'affaires in Sofia, in turn recalled that Bulgaria was the second country in the world to recognize new China in 1949.

The Spring Festival was an important symbol of traditional Chinese culture and channel for the understanding and perception of the Chinese culture, Yan said.

"I believe that through events like today's, the understanding and emotion between the two peoples will deepen and create a harmonious and wonderful environment for equal cooperation and co-development," Yan said.