CANBERRA, Feb. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Culture Day held here in the Australian capital has made people feel the ancient charm and vitality of Chinese culture, promoting cultural exchanges and cooperation between Australia and China.

Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian made a statement while delivering a speech at the Chinese New Year Reception on the Chinese Culture Day on Tuesday.

The Chinese New Year has increasingly become an international festival in Australia, with the deepening of humanistic exchanges between the two sides, Xiao said, hoping that the Chinese Culture Day could facilitate the friendship between the two peoples.

Participants from the Australian side, including Marisa Paterson and Peter Cain, both members of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory, during their speech, said that Australia and China have a long history of people-to-people exchanges, and the two sides have carried out in-depth mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of culture, tourism and international student exchanges. This multi-layered partnership is unique and deserves to be celebrated by both parties.

In their speech, the Australian guests noticed that China has been Australia's largest trading partner for many years, Beijing and Canberra are sister cities, and the number of Chinese tourists accounts for 20 percent of the total number of foreign tourists in Canberra. The Australian side is willing to continue to work hard to push the bilateral friendly and cooperative relations to a higher level.

At the reception, artists from Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, staged performances of dance, folk music and traditional opera. Some Chinese intangible cultural heritage experience such as calligraphy, seal carving, woodblock prints and Song Dynasty-style tea ordering, were also on display.

The Chinese New Year reception was attended by more than 180 people from all walks of life in Australia.