More than 200 expatriate residents of Shanghai are invited to an event held on a cruise on the Huangpu River on Friday to celebrate the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

More than 200 expatriates in Shanghai were invited to a cruise event on Friday to celebrate the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.

During the event, the expats got to enjoy various forms of art performance and the "Forever Following the Party" light show featuring high-rise buildings and historical architects on the two sides of the Huangpu River.

The event was held by the Huacao Jinfeng International Community Development Promotion Association of Minhang district, The Expatriate Center (TEC), and Shanghai Yuexin Culture and Tourism Group under the guidance of the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries.

"The Huangpu River and the Suzhou Creek, the two major waterways of Shanghai have both taken on new looks, changing from the old rust belts to the city's new showrooms. They are living examples of our development philosophy - always putting the people first and leaving the best resources to them in our city's development," said Jing Ying, vice-president of the association.

"We'll always put the people before everything else, strengthen exchange and cooperation with countries around the world, respect different cultures and promote diversity so as to make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind."

Linda Painan, chairwoman of TEC, congratulated the CPC for its remarkable achievements in the past century, especially in the recent decade where China has contributed much to the global peace and prosperity, as evidenced by its successful control of the COVID-19 pandemic at home and provision of vaccines and medical assistance to other countries.

"Shanghai is a human-centered city, where various government departments hold seminars with expatriates of all nationalities and listen to our suggestions and feedback in order to further optimize their handling processes of foreign-related affairs," she said. "Whenever I give lectures at overseas universities, I always advise students that, Shanghai, will be the best platform for their future development."

Various performances, including Sichuan Opera, Chinese-style dance, Spanish dance, were held during the voyage.

Many of the participants said that being able to experience the grand centenary celebrations was a memorable experience.

Christopher Short from the United Kingdom said that he was happy to have experienced the celebrations even though he had only recently relocated to China.

"I witnessed the country's splendid development and the people's solidarity from the great celebration," he said.

Amir Khan from Pakistan, who has lived in China for more than two decades, said: "I've somehow witnessed how the country is marching toward a marvelous future with the leadership of the CPC."