The Chinese National Day reception gave guests an occasion for a pre-Puja meet-up. Held at Hyatt Regency Kolkata on Chaturthi, the evening marked the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In the absence of consul general Xu Wei, acting consul general Qin Yong did the honours.
As the economic and cultural centre of east India, Calcutta, he pointed out, shares deep ties with China. “Over 200 years ago, the earliest Chinese immigrants arrived here leading to the largest Chinese community in India being established here,” Qin Yong said, addressing an audience that included a sizeable representation of the Indian Chinese community from China Town.
Acting consul general Qin Yong raises a toast with chief guest Narayan Swaroop Nigam, the principal secretary of health and family welfare
He also mentioned Rabindranath Tagore’s first China visit a century ago, forging an enduring bond between the two countries and leading to the founding of Cheena Bhavana at Visva-Bharati in Santiniketan. “It has become a vital centre for China-India cultural exchange,” he said.
The acting consul general also brought up another Calcuttan — Dr Bejoy Kumar Basu, who had joined an Indian medical mission over 80 years ago to support the Chinese people fighting against Japanese aggression. “He dedicated himself to promoting traditional Chinese acupuncture after returning to India, and devoted his entire life to fostering India-China friendship.”
Pointing to the “restarting” of China-India relations ever since the heads of the two states met on the sidelines of the 16th BRICS Summit at Kazan in October 2024, “achieving new progress in bilateral exchanges and cooperation”, Yong spoke of some other resumptions as well.
“China has resumed the pilgrimage for Indian pilgrims to the sacred mountain and holy lake in China’s Xizang Autonomous Region, enabling over 700 official and nearly 20,000 private pilgrims to fulfill their life-long dreams,” he said, speaking of the Kailash Mansarovar lake in Tibet. Within a week, flights would resume as well, with Indigo announcing a Calcutta-Guangzhou direct connection, from October 26.
Thai consul general Siriporn Tantipanyathep, despite being unwell, not only attended the reception but also extended a gracious gesture. Her personal chef brought a Thai speciality, flower momo, for the evening’s guests, which was being served as a pre-event snack.
Children of two schools where Chinese is taught — St. Joan’s School and The School of World Languages — presented a short cultural programme.