The I Love Changzhou - CICP Cultural Salon was held in China-Israel Changzhou Innovation Park (CICP) on August 3, a day before the Qixi Festival, also known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day.

Edward Shapira, consul general of the Israeli Consulate in Shanghai, delivered a speech for this event via pre-recorded video-message.

Chen Zhiliang, director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Changzhou Municipal Committee, attended the event.

Nearly 50 expats in Changzhou gathered in CICP and participated in activities including making Qiaoguo (fried thin pastes) and river lanterns, visiting the trunk market, and watching clips from Israeli movies.

This year’s Qixi happens to be in the same month as Tu B'Av, the Jewish Day of Love, which is celebrated on the fifteenth of the Hebrew month of Av.

The event also inaugurated the Innovation and Kibbutz Tour in CICP, a tribute to the 30th anniversary of China-Israel diplomatic relations.

Kibbutz means gathering or collective in Hebrew. A kibbutz is an Israeli collective settlement, usually agricultural and often also industrial, in which all wealth is held in common.

This month, CICP will open a variety of public facilities for talent services, movies, exhibitions, kosher dining, and cultural activities to help expats learn more about the park through the Innovation and Kibbutz Tour.