Buenos Aires held a celebration on Sunday to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The officially called "Buenos Aires Celebrates China" event, also perceived as a celebration of the two cultures, attracted locals, tourists and ethnic Chinese residents in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.

Two Chinese dragons were dancing along the Mayo Avenue in central Buenos Aires, where the federal House of Government and the city's Culture Department are located.

The event opened with the singing of Chinese and Argentine national anthems by the Choir of the Confucius Institute, a body that teaches the Chinese language and culture overseas.

Young Argentines of Chinese origin paraded in traditional Chinese clothes, attracting onlookers to take photos.

Hugo Schwab, the choir's director, said that the 25 singers were happy about not only taking part in the colorful ceremony but also having the chance to practice their Chinese.

"I began with Tai-Chi-Chuan and then I study the language," Jimena Gomez Carrilo, a teacher in the Central Language School of Buenos Aires University, told Xinhua, adding that she had gradually become interested in Chinese culture.

The choir also sang traditional Chinese songs like Half Moon and Jasmine Flower. Tourists were fascinated by traditional Chinese instruments such as erhu, pipe and guzheng.

Hearing the music from their original homeland, many ethnic Chinese, who missed the distant land, grew excited and even had tears on their faces.

"It's like being at home for a moment," 70-year old Jorge, a Chinese-born man who attended the celebration told Xinhua.

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