On June 12 (local time), the 3rd "Red Flag Cup" Frankfurt International Dragon Boat Festival officially opened along the banks of the River Main in Germany, drawing teams and guests from China, Germany, Thailand, Malaysia, and other countries and regions.

Under the overall planning and meticulous guidance of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Hunan Provincial Committee and the Hengyang Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, Hengyang served as the Guest City of Honor. It presented a curated showcase of its distinctive cultural arts and tourism resources. Highlights included the Qiyang Opera Picking Cherries, the ethnic dance The Wine-Serving Dance, and a medley of folk songs featuring Little Back Basket. Additionally, a dedicated Hengyang exhibition zone was set up to display Hunan tourism photography, municipal-level intangible cultural heritage items, Nan Yue tourism resources, and clock-themed cultural creative products from Chuanshan Time Valley.

Zhou Yumei, Member of the Standing Committee of the Hengyang Municipal Party Committee and Head of the Publicity Department, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. She introduced Hengyang’s profound historical and cultural heritage as well as its regional advantages in transportation and industry. Citing the sports diplomacy story of table tennis star Fan Zhendong playing for a German club, she extended a warm invitation to friends from all sectors in Germany to visit Hengyang and explore new space for cooperation. Huang Yiyang, Consul General of China in Frankfurt, and Gao Feng, Vice Chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, spoke highly of Hengyang’s cultural presentations. Huang noted that Hengyang’s distinctive performances enriched the event’s substance and fostered mutual learning between civilizations, while Gao expressed his hope that Hengyang would continue to leverage international platforms to tell its urban story well and enhance people-to-people connectivity between China and the world.

Concurrent events included the international dragon boat races, an Asian food bazaar, and cultural performances from various countries, with the Hengyang exhibition remaining open throughout. Moving forward, Hengyang will leverage its cultural and industrial strengths to actively participate in global exchanges, further burnish the "Yancheng" (Wild Goose City) brand, and promote deeper and more substantive cooperation between China and Europe across all fields.