After hosting a flower fair in Paris last year, the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou is seeking to tighten its bond with New York City via another flower fair, folk culture performances and sharing Cantonese food.

The flower fair will be held at Columbia University on Feb 3, where students from China and other countries will share stories about Guangzhou and New York. The event should appeal to those interested in Chinese culture, as they can learn to speak Chinese, try some Cantonese dim sum and learn how Spring Festival is traditionally celebrated in Guangzhou.

Guangzhou will host a flower fair at Columbia University in New York in February. [Photo/Guangzhou Daily]

Exchanges between Guangzhou and New York began on Aug 28, 1974, when the US merchant ship "Empress of China" departed from New York Harbor for Guangzhou. Six month later, the ship arrived at Guangzhou's Huangpu Port, marking the first trade exchange between China and the United States and igniting enthusiasm among the American people for an emerging tea trade.

Zhujiang New Town in Guangzhou (top) and Manhattan in New York City. [Photo/Guangzhou Daily]

In 2016, Guangzhou Port established friendly ties with the Port of New York and New Jersey. One year later, Guangzhou strengthened its relations with New York by hosting a promotional event for the 2018 Fortune Global Forum in the US city. In 2018, New York was announced as one of five winners of the 2018 Guangzhou International Award for Urban Innovation. 

Guangzhou promotes the 2018 World Routes event in New York City's Times Square in September 2018. [Photo/ycwb.com]