Yesterday (the 15th day of the first lunar month), the annual event “Crossing Tongji Bridge” arrived as expected. Hundreds of thousands of people in Foshan walked across the same bridge for a common hope.

Citizens flocked to the front of Tongji Bridge with friends or families. Each of them holds a small windmill and walks slowly across the bridge, saying “Crossing Tongji Bridge, Troubles Go Away” to pray for peace and luck in the coming year.

The proverb "Crossing Tongji Bridge, Troubles Go Away” is well known in Foshan, meaning that crossing the bridge can eliminate worries and welcome smooth days.For Foshan people, the distinctive feature when crossing Tongji Bridge is to bring windmills, wind bells, lettuce and other mascots. Windmill symbolizes good luck and smooth life; lettuce symbolizes "making money"; wind bell indicates good news coming.

Mr. Li and his wife came to Foshan in the 1990s and they keep the custom of crossing Tongji Bridge every year. In the recent 20 years, they formed a loving family of four members. At the moment, the family is crossing Tongji Bridge, which is a microcosm of thousands of happy families in Foshan.

Such a small bridge attracts hundreds of thousands of people in Foshan and surrounding area every year! Nowadays, the influence of “Crossing Tongji Bridge” at Lantern Festival has been extended to other regions in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and it also attracts many foreign friends.

Eli Lipshitz, Deputy Consul General from the Consulate General of Israel in Guangzhou, walked across the Tongji Bridge with a group of foreign guests and guests from Hong Kong and Macao that were organized by Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Bureau of Chancheng. This is the first time for Eli Lipshitz to feel the charm of Foshan's traditional folk activities.

Matteo Michetti, a visa officer from the Consulate General of Italy in Guangzhou, also joined the event for the first time. "I know crossing Tongji Bridge can remove troubles and windmills can bring good luck." Matteo Michetti says. His first impression of Foshan is that Foshan has great strength in ceramics. He said that Foshan and Guangzhou are closely linked, and he can travel between the two cities in 40 minutes by metro. Finally, he wished Foshan become better and better.

“Crossing Tongji Bridge” is an annual grand cultural event in Foshan. This traditional folk custom has lasted for more than 400 years, which began in the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty. On every 15th and 16th day of the first lunar month, Foshan people would cross the Tongji Bridge with their families.

With its unique charm, Crossing Tongji Bridge, a folk cultural activity in which the whole city participates, not only attracts more and more Chinese and foreign friends to experience Foshan's unique Lingnan culture, but also promotes Foshan culture to the world, which will polish the brand of Foshan's traditional culture and build a bridge of friendship.

(China Foshan)