The awards ceremony of a junior chess competition between Guangzhou and its Friendship City, Lyon, central France, was held in Lyon recently.

Lu Qingjiang, China's consul general in Lyon, was invited to attend. She awarded medals and certificates to the Lyon Chess Association, as well as to outstanding players. More than 180 people, including Lyon's city councilor Tristan Debray, attended the awards ceremony.

Lu sent Mid-Autumn Festival wishes to the attendees. She said that with the strong support of Lyon and Guangzhou, this friendly competition was successfully held despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Debray praised the experience of holding many friendly competitions with various parts of China. He noted that through this online friendly competition with Guangzhou, youth from the two cities forged friendships through chess, learned from each other, and enhanced mutual understanding. He also expressed hope that the two cities will resume offline exchanges as soon as possible.

The 2022 China Guangzhou-Lyon Youth Chess Friendly Tournament opened on June 11 in Guangzhou. The competition was divided into three rounds, which were conducted online.

Guangzhou and Lyon became Friendship Cities in 1988. Over the years, the two cities have continuously deepened exchanges in the fields of economy and trade, science and technology, education, as well as sports, and tourism.

The awards ceremony of the junior chess competition between Guangzhou and its Friendship city, Lyon, is held in Lyon.