Anniversary of SZ-Toronto city friendship marked

Shenzhen teenagers stage a musical performance during a series of activities to mark the fifth anniversary of the establishment of friendship city relationship between Shenzhen and Toronto at the China Printmaking Museum in Longhua District yesterday. Zhang Yu

A SERIES of activities including a photography exhibition, an open-air bazaar and an innovation cooperation conference were held at the China Printmaking Museum in Longhua District yesterday, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the establishment of friendship city relationship between Shenzhen and Toronto, Canada.

To better review the previous cooperation in various fields and display the development of both cities, the Foreign Affairs Office of the Shenzhen Municipal Government has delivered “Shenzhen Meets Toronto” Friendship City Photography Exhibition in collaboration with the Toronto Economic Development and Culture Division and the Longhua District Government.

Yao Ren, deputy secretary-general of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, gave a speech explaining the substantial results the two cities have achieved in economics and trade, science and technology, culture and education at the photography exhibition’s launch ceremony yesterday.

Denzil Minnan-Wong, first deputy mayor of Toronto, also delivered remarks via a video link. “Personally, I hope to see increased collaboration opportunities for growth and development. As two rising tech hubs, we should be focusing on how to strengthen our e-commerce sectors and support our tech industries,” he said.

Over the last five years, Shenzhen and Toronto have carried out fruitful and practical exchanges and cooperation in economic trade, information technology, humanities, education and other fields, according to the city government’s foreign affairs office.

The photography exhibition, which will run until Sept. 24 this year, is intended to further deepen the friendly exchanges, mutual understanding and friendship between the two cities, and promote practical cooperation at deeper levels, the exhibition’s organizers said.

The open-air bazaar, which presented a party-like atmosphere, aimed to promote interaction between the two cities’ citizens. It featured various food, virtual reality games, curling games, hands-on printmaking experiential learning, as well as musical and magic performances.

The Shenzhen-Canada Innovation Cooperation Conference highlighted strengthened collaboration in fields such as technology, trade and people-to-people exchanges between the cities.

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the most populous city in Canada, with an estimated population of 2.8 million. It is also the fourth-largest city in North America. The city established a friendship city relationship with Shenzhen on Nov. 16, 2016. (Shenzhen Daily)