A Chinese businesswoman in Lebanon on Tuesday said China's evacuation of its citizens from the Middle East country was swift.
The first batch of 69 Chinese citizens, along with 11 of their foreign family members, have been evacuated from Lebanon and safely arrived in Cyprus on Tuesday as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensified in southern Lebanon.
Eliana Ibrahim, president of the China Arab Association for Promoting Cultural and Commercial Exchange, who has lived in Lebanon for over two decades, talked about the latest situation in Lebanon during in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN).
"We all know Lebanon is in such kind of situation, but really for everybody's life it's quite different. The people in the south of Lebanon, they have to leave their houses. They are sleeping on the street and they're sleeping in the public school which opened by the government to host them. Some of them rent houses in the north of Lebanon or they live in their relatives' houses," she said.
The killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli airstrikes on the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Friday marks a major escalation in the long-running conflict and deepens fears of a wider regional war.
"The only explosion I heard was the one on Friday, the one which was targeting the leader of Hezbollah. That was the huge one and the other explosions, I never heard that," Eliana Ibrahim said.
She said she kept contact with the Chinese Embassy in Lebanon about the evacuation plans. She believes the Chinese authorities have made quick response to the worsening sitution in the Middle East country.
"I was the witness of the 2006 evacuation of the Chinese people in Lebanon. So I shared my experience with the Chinese embassy and I gave them all the support because we have a travel agency. We know from where we can rent buses. So all of this information was already requested by the Chinese embassy one year ago. It's even quicker than I thought," she said.
Cyprus, the closest European Union member state to the Middle East, is a hub for evacuees, having handled an influx of around 60,000 people fleeing the Hezbollah-Israel war in 2006.
Chinese citizens swiftly evacuated from Lebanon amid escalating Israel-Hezbollah crossfire
Dazzling light and drone shows and splendid firework displays have illuminated the night skies over many Chinese cities on Tuesday as people celebrates the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China.
In Guangzhou, capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, many buildings along the Zhujiang River, including the iconic Guangzhou Tower, were lit up with different colors at night, adding to the festive atmosphere.
"So many National Day elements appear on landmark buildings in Guangzhou, giving us a festive vibe. While enjoying the prosperity of our country, we should always remember its history," said a local resident.
Nearly 1,000 drones presented a splendid show over the Nanbei Lake scenic area in Haiyan County, east China's Zhejiang Province by changing their formations to form various patterns in the night sky. The scenic area also launched a night tour program to offer tourists a special traveling experience during the holiday.
"I think the light show is very beautiful, making me feel like living in a dream," said a tourist named Song Ziyu.
Linyi City in east China's Shandong Province initiated a nighttime boat cruise on the city's Yihe River, allowing tourists to admire the beautiful scenery on the riverside.
During the cruise, brilliant light shows combining local cultural and National Day elements as well as attractive live drama performances immersed the boat riders in the city's long history and charming legacies.
"The whole boat ride is at a comfortable speed with the lights changing at different places and matching perfectly with surrounding buildings. I feel like being in a painting," said a tourist named Gao Tianxiang.
An electric night concert took place on Tuesday at the Mingshashan and Crescent Lake, an oasis scenic spot in the Gobi Desert, in Dunhuang City of northwest China's Gansu Province.
A 600-square-meter giant national flag slowly moved up the sand slope with the support of thousands of tourists from all over the country, marking the beginning of the concert.
Then the concert attendees either held high glow sticks or turned on the flashlights of their cellphones to jointly create a "starry sea" in the desert and sang patriotic songs to send their blessings to the motherland.
"Today, I feel like the whole slope is full of people. They are all very excited," said a tourist named Sun Mengqi.
Similar activities were also held in Nanchang City of east China's Jiangxi Province, in Yibin City of southwest China's Sichuan Province, in Anlu City of central China's Hubei Province, and in Handan City of north China's Hebei Province, igniting people's passion for traveling during the holiday.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions also held grand firework shows on Tuesday night to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Local youngsters and tourists from other parts of the country sang patriotic songs together to show their love and pride in the country's remarkable achievements in the past decades.
China celebrates National Day with light shows, fireworks, drone displays
