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Canadian teachers Ann Babcock and Carol Turner celebrated the Spring Festival with five Canadian friends who joined them in Shenzhen. Babcock and Turner are teaching at the Shenzhen (Nanshan) Concord College of Sino-Canada in Nanshan District.

While most foreign teachers at the school took advantage of the winter vacation to travel to Southeast Asian countries, Babcock and Turner chose to stay in the city and celebrate the traditional Chinese festival with their friends, who flew over from New Brunswick, Canada.

"This has been the first time for all of us to travel to China and Asia," said Peggy Sproul, one of the friends.

The highlight of their stay was attending the Mayor's Dinner on Feb. 4. The dinner was organized by the CEO Club in the Shenzhen Hi-Tech Industrial Park in Nanshan District, where they celebrated the arrival of the Chinese New Year with the city's top leaders and entrepreneurs.

"I felt greatly honored to have danced with Shenzhen Mayor Li Hongzhong at the party," said Patty Horne.

On the Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve, Turner and Babcock took their five friends to a restaurant in Shekou for a big dinner.

"The blasts of fireworks played by revelers in Shekou until midnight enabled us to experience the typical traditional Chinese festival celebrations," Horne said.

Editor: Catherine