THE Shenzhen Fuyong Huaide Lion Dance Troupe performed lion dances in Madrid, capital of Spain, from Friday to Sunday, garnering lots of attention, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.

Two lion dancers performed on high poles, made intricate movements and interacted with local audiences. A little boy identified as Pablo sketched a picture of a lion on site and gave it to the lion dancers as a gift.

Meanwhile, an original digital art exhibition named Seasonal Proximities kicked off in Madrid on July 11. Many local citizens were seen lining up to check out the exhibition.

“I was impressed by the creative ideas of Shenzhen artist Cao Yuxi. The exhibition achieves a perfect fusion of technology and art. I would like to visit Shenzhen to learn about how the city inspires the artist,” Anna Garcia, who has lived in Madrid for over 20 years, said.

The exhibition has seen over 1,000 visitors each day on average since its opening, with accumulated visits exceeding 30,000, according to the report. The exhibition ran until Sunday.

The lion dance performances and the art exhibition are important parts of this year’s Summers of the City Art Festival in Madrid. This is also the first time for Chinese cultural and arts projects to join the art festival, as per the report.

The Summers of the City Art Festival is one of the oldest, largest and most influential art festivals in Madrid, according to Yang Changqing, director of the China Cultural Center in Madrid.

It is also worth mentioning that the performance team brought a travel guidebook titled “IN-Shenzhen” that was compiled and published by the world-famous travel magazine Lonely Planet to invite local citizens to visit Shenzhen.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and Spain and the China-Spain Culture and Tourism Year.

(Shen Minglai, Wang Jingli)