Hangzhou (Tonglu) today became the fifth city in the Eastern China region to launch the celebration of the 3^rd International Day of Yoga (IDY) at a function, which was jointly organized by Consulate General of India, Shanghai along with Tonglu County Government today.

2. The 3^rd IDY celebration was held at the Jiangnan Lakeside Healing Resort and nearly 1000 yoga lovers from Tonglu participated in the Yoga celebrations. Given the lay out and large turn out of the participants, five separate venues with five yoga masters was organized to accommodate the large number of yoga lovers who turned up today. It may be noted that in the Eastern China Region, Tonglu (Hangzhou) became the fifth city to host the 3^rdIDY launch, which would be celebrated across twelve cities in Eastern China from 17 – 25 June.

3. Giving the inaugural address at the IDY launch, Mayor of Tonglu, Mr. Fang Yi welcomed the introduction of Yoga and committed to hosting the event each year in Tonglu county on a regular basis. He added that given the natural ecology and greenery of Tonglu, the practice of Yoga on a large scale basis provided an ideal backdrop to the Tonglu county.

4. Consulate General of India Shanghai had arranged through KYM (Krishnamachari Yoga Mandiram) a leading Indian Yoga teacher, who conducted the Yoga session for the nearly 1000 Yoga practitioners, based on the Common Yoga Protocol sent by the Department of AYUSH. The event was extremely well received by the large number of Yoga follower community in Tonglu (Hangzhou).

5. It may be noted that in the Eastern China region of Shanghai, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, 3^rd IDY celebrations are being organized by CGI Shanghai from 17 - 25 June, one day each across twelve cities in ECR, with theme of “Ten cities, Ten Days, Bringing together 15000 Yoga Lovers closer to India – promoting healthy and harmonious lifestyles”!

6. Each of the venues chosen in the twelve cities, i.e. Wuyi (19 May), Huzhou (20 May), Lishui (10 June), Zhenjiang (11 June), Hangzhou– Tonglu (today), Wenzhou (18 June), Shanghai (21 June), Suqian (23 June), Xuzhou (23 June), Taizhou (24 June) and Wuxi (25 June), will be at prestigious open public spaces with participation from atleast 1000 people at each venue. The grand finale will be held on 25 June 2017 in Wuxi at the foothills of the scenic Lingshan Temple, where nearly 10000 Yoga Lovers are expected to participate in a record setting event in mainland China.

Hangzhou - Tonglu (Zhejiang),

17 June 2017