Beijing Women's Federation

To further implement President Xi Jinping’s important remarks on the importance of family, family education, and family values, and to respond to the United Nations’ call to promote harmony, happiness, and progress within families on the International Day of Families (May 15), the “Celebrating International Day of Families Together Beijing 2025” event was successfully held on May 10 at the Beijing World Flower Wonderland Park. Jointly hosted by the Beijing Women’s Federation (BWF), the Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Beijing, and the Beijing NGO Association for International Exchanges, this year’s event carried the theme “Blossoming the Families’ Dream Together, Painting the Global Village Together.” It featured a range of engaging activities, including gardening workshops, traditional handicrafts, fun competitions, exhibitions of women and children’s development research bases in Beijing, and garden tours. The event attracted more than 200 participants from over 10 countries, including Sri Lanka, Nepal, Belgium, Spain, Mexico, Germany, and Indonesia. Tan Hong, Vice President of the BWF, Yao Hailin, Vice President of the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, as well as representatives from the organizing units such as the Foreign Affairs Office of the People’s Government of Beijing and the Beijing NGO Association for International Exchanges, attended the event.

 

 

Exchange & Connection: Blossoming the Families’ Dream Together

The idea that “a harmonious family leads to success in everything” is deeply rooted in Chinese culture, and resonates with people all around the world. At the event, Chinese and international families connected through flowers: they created floral art together during hands-on craft sessions and designed their own "happy gardens" through fun games. Yu Yimo, a young participant from Mexico, showed off a lily print made with her younger brother. The Martin family from Spain was totally fascinated by the rose-shaped sugar figurines and didn’t want to put them down. Families used flowers like Chinese peonies—symbolizing family unity—to create stunning floral artworks, and wrote blessings for the exchange of family cultures in multiple languages. Everyone, regardless of nationality or language, joined in China’s intangible cultural heritage activities like flower printing and traditional Chinese paper flower folding, as well as games like “pass the flower ring” and “pass the flower with a drumbeat.” These interactive experiences quickly built bonds across borders. Ms. Sabita Nakarmi, Counsellor of the Embassy of Nepal in China, joined with her family and said, “Our kids had so much fun with the interactive games—they had a wonderful time today.” Marc, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Sciences from Belgium, joined with his family and commented, “We made a lot of new friends. Every flower here has become a link connecting families from China and around the world. We wish the global community continued harmony and unity.” Students from Fengtai District’s Youth Center and the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, both of which are women and children’s development research bases in Beijing, also performed at the event. Their dance Fish Gathering: A Happy Family and opera piece Standing by the Flower Wall showcased the charm of  Fengtai District and received rounds of applause.

Green Living: Painting the Global Village Together

The Earth is our shared home. Building a beautiful world with clear waters and green mountains is an essential part of a shared future for humanity. The Beijing World Flower Wonderland Park, one of the capital’s women and children’s development research bases and the venue for this event, actively promotes green living and sustainability and shares China’s stories of women’s development with the world. In the flower science lab, families from China and abroad learned about the technology behind flower cultivation and its role in environmental protection. The family of Shao Tianshuai, one of Beijing’s “Most Beautiful Families,” presented their art creations. The daughter Zhang Shaowen excitedly shared, “I was amazed by the land art installations made with fallen branches and leaves—and I even tried it myself! I really felt the beauty of humans living in harmony with nature. I had no idea garden waste could be reused like this. I’m definitely going to tell more people to help protect our green home.” During the garden tour, families strolled through fragrant, flower-filled paths, enjoying nature together. Pelisa from the Czech Republic joined with her 5-year-old son Adam, who happily played with other children during a quiz on “Child-Friendly City Development.” Emilia from Germany joined with her family for the second year in a row. They explored every check-in point of the family-themed garden walk and took happy family photos. She said, “We had such a great time. We really are one big family in this global village.”

 

As a flagship event for civil diplomacy in the capital, the “Celebrating International Day of Families Together Beijing” event has been held for 15 years. Using “family” as a bridge and culture, sports, and art as vehicles, it has been fostering exchanges and heartfelt connections between Chinese and foreign families living in Beijing. This year’s event was organized by the Beijing Women International Exchange Center and the Beijing World Flower Wonderland Park, with strong support from the Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, Beijing Foreign Studies University, the Fengtai District Women’s Federation, and the Fengtai District Youth Center.