Photo taken on Sept. 14, 2025, local time shows a dragon dance performance in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo: China News Service/Lin Chunyin)

(ECNS) -- The Sao Paulo City Council on Monday local time enacted Law No. 18342, including the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival in the city's official events calendar, making it an official festival in this Brazilian city.

The bill was proposed by councilor George Hato and signed by City Council President Ricardo Teixeira, and officially took effect on November 28.

The promotion of this legislation aims to recognize the influence of Chinese culture in Sao Paulo and enhance the diversity of the city's multicultural activities, Hato said.

The Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most important traditional celebrations for the Chinese community, symbolizing reunion, harvest, and cultural heritage, he added. As a diverse immigrant city, Sao Paulo's inclusion of this festival into its official events calendar helps promote ethnic integration and strengthen interactions with the local Chinese community.

Local cultural experts noted that in recent years, the Chinese community in Sao Paulo has been organizing large-scale and influential celebrations for festivals such as the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, and Chinese New Year.

With the deepening ties between China and Brazil and the growing influence of the Chinese community and its culture, there is potential for the addition of more China-related commemorative or cultural holidays in the future, such as the Chinese New Year and the Dragon Boat Festival, they said.

(By Zhang Dongfang)