2025 marks the 17th anniversary of the establishment of sister city relations between Qingdao, China, and Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Recently, the Canada Shandong Business Association carefully organized a themed event titled “Talk about Chinese Language, Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival,” using the traditional Chinese festival as a link to share hometown sentiments and friendship, discuss cooperation and development, and add a warm footnote to the profound friendship between the two sister cities.

The event venue was filled with a strong festive atmosphere, with various traditional mooncakes, fruits, and fine Chinese teas placed on the tables. As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, participating guests sat around, sipping tea, tasting pastries, chatting about daily life, discussing changes in their hometowns, recalling memories of their native land, and the venue was filled with continuous laughter. Everyone also jointly recorded a video to send sincere festival greetings to the people of both hometowns, wishing the China-Canada friendship to last forever.

In his speech, Han Changfu, Executive President of the Canada Shandong Business Association, reviewed the friendly exchange history between the two cities. “Qingdao and Richmond have been connected for 17 years, and cooperation in economy, trade, culture, tourism and other fields has yielded fruitful results,” he said. He introduced that in recent years, trade between the two sides has continued to heat up. Qingdao exports high-quality goods such as mechanical and electrical products, food, agricultural products, and construction machinery to Canada, while Canadian seafood, wine, fruit wine, bulk agricultural products, and electronic products also continuously enter the Qingdao market, forming a good pattern of complementary and win-win cooperation.

Han Changfu emphasized that the continuous holding of the “Qingdao-Richmond Sister City Series Activities” has made the cooperation stories between the two places widely known, effectively stimulating the enthusiasm of people from all walks of life in Richmond and Canada to travel to Qingdao and invest in businesses. In August 2025, organized by the association, representatives of the Canadian business community actively participated in the “Shandong Chinese Chamber of Commerce” hosted by Qingdao and conducted in-depth cooperation negotiations with Shandong entrepreneurs. During this period, the delegation successively inspected Shinan District, West Coast New Area, Laoshan District, and Licang District of Qingdao, carried out in-depth business exchanges with local commerce departments, chambers of commerce for import and export, and cultural and tourism bureaus, reached preliminary cooperation intentions in multiple fields, and laid a solid foundation for subsequent practical cooperation.

To further enhance understanding of Qingdao and Chinese culture, the event specially set up a cultural exchange session. Li Aiying, a native of Shandong, shared her “Hometown Trilogy” created by herself, full of nostalgia for her native land between the lines; Kong Shaokai talked about his research experience on Chinese culture, especially oracle bone inscriptions, showing the profoundness and breadth of Chinese characters; Gu Zhong interpreted the art of brush calligraphy on the spot, allowing guests to feel the unique charm of traditional brush and ink. Many participants had a heated discussion around the Confucian culture of the hometown of Confucius and Mencius, the urban development of Qingdao, and the construction achievements of Qingdao Port, all praising the “leapfrog and ever-changing” development momentum of Qingdao in recent years, and expressing their intention to actively seek opportunities to return to their hometown for investigation and investment.

The cultural performance session pushed the event to a climax. Hu Faxiang brought a saxophone performance of “The Crooked Moon,” and the melodious melody outlined the quiet and beautiful moonlight of the Mid-Autumn Festival; Tracy affectionately recited Feng Yu’s original poem “Tune: Prelude to Water Melody – Thoughts on Mid-Autumn Festival,” and the charm of classical poetry infected every guest present; Han Changfu recited his original work “My Hometown is in Qingdao,” interpreting the beautiful scenery and vigorous vitality of his hometown with sincere emotions, which aroused strong resonance.

“By the sea, the bright moon rises; at this moment, all corners of the world share the same view.” The event came to a successful conclusion in a warm and peaceful atmosphere. This “Talk about Chinese Language, Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival” event not only built a platform for cultural exchange between compatriots of the two places but also strengthened the bond of friendship and cooperation between Qingdao and Richmond.