Hongqiao's inaugural community festival redefines urban harmony

After two enriching months, the inaugural V"ibrant IN Hongqiao International Community Life Festival has drawn to a perfect close. With the theme of I"NTEGRATION, this event featured 10 thematic segments and over 20 activities, transforming shared spaces into stages for melodious music, streets into galleries of multicultural art, and forums into platforms for intellectual exchange.

The following are the top 10 highlights of the festival.

Inclusion: art education launch day
The April 19 kickoff at Huangjinchengdao Pedestrian Street saw 26 themed tents attracting nearly 600 residents from China and abroad, vividly demonstrating cross-cultural harmony through interactive experiences.

Network: noon reading hour
Takashimaya and World Trade Center temporarily morphed into literary salons, offering white-collar workers four sessions of midday reading breaks - a heartwarming testament to how international communities enhance business environments.

Teamwork: friendly flag football tournament
On the lawns of Gubei Civic Park, youth from diverse backgrounds bonded through exhilarating flag football matches, forging international friendships through sportsmanship.

Empower: immersive script reading
At community cultural centers and Soong Ching Ling's former residence, participants brought history to life by dramatically reading letters from T"he Correspondence of Soong Ching Ling."

Growth: Soong Ching Ling cultural camp
Children roleplayed as Y"oung Ching Ling" and reporters, absorbing her humanitarian spirit while learning to narrate her stories, planting seeds of Shanghainese culture and peace advocacy.

Relationship: international family day
The inaugural L"ittle Dove Peace Ambassadors program saw 20 children articulating Soong's patriotic ideals, while families connected emotionally with her international friendship stories.

Artistry: community window gallery
Residents' photographs and artworks transformed Ningjuli-Gubei Service Center's windows into neighborhood landmarks, with passersby delighting in familiar scenes rendered artistically.

Transition: youth eco-forum
At the TEDY&OUTH competition, bilingual teens proposed innovative solutions for clean energy and circular economy, showcasing tech-driven ecological visions.

Opportunity: serendipitous encounters
Huangjinchengdao Pedestrian Street became a pop-up sci-art playground where spontaneous tech-art interactions created pure joy.

Nurturing: closing gala
The finale at Hongqiao International School Theater featured 200-plus students from local and overseas partner schools, their collaborative performances resonating with the festival's spirit.

Though the curtain has fallen, the festival's legacy lives on through its successful realization of IN"TEGRATION - making artistic living, humanistic warmth, and community cohesion tangibly accessible. The ten segments collectively painted Hongqiao as a blueprint for international neighborhood-building, where global cultures don't just coexist but creatively interplay.