Executive ViceMayor Li Feng (R) presents souvenir albums to senior couples for their golden and silver weddinganniversaries.

THE Fourth Shenzhen Community Festival began yesterday, coinciding with the Lantern Festival.

The festival, held annually, will this year include 91 events held by 103 communities across the city. The festival in Luohu and other districts yesterday, which marked the end of the Spring Festival, was celebrated with games and activities such as lantern riddles, tangyuan (glutinous rice pudding) tasting, photo exhibitions and a cuisine competition.

The Shenzhen Community Festival has opened on the same day as the Lantern Festival since 2007 and has developed a significant role in improving relations among neighborhoods and residents.

Deng Xiaomin, section chief of the Shenzhen Municipal Civil Affairs Bureau, said at the launch ceremony that in such a city of migrants, whose neighbors are not acquainted with each other, the events were good for bringing residents together.

"In the past years, we have arranged over 300 events and seen an increasing improvement in neighborhood relations that has brought citizens a feeling of integration in the city," Deng said.

Jiang, a resident attending the lion dance performance at the opening ceremony in Luohu yesterday, said his team members were from different communities and had become friends thanks to community events held during the festival.

Source:Shenzhen Daily