DAR ES SALAAM, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- More than 300 overseas Chinese in Tanzania gathered in the port city of Dar es Salaam on Saturday to celebrate the upcoming Spring Festival, which marks the first day of the lunar calendar.

The celebration was guided by the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania and organized by overseas Chinese; the audience enjoyed a gala featuring traditional Chinese music, dance, and other performances.

Chinese Ambassador to Tanzania Chen Mingjian said the Spring Festival is the social practice of the Chinese people to celebrate the traditional New Year, which has been included in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

The Spring Festival falls on Jan. 29 this year, marking the beginning of the Year of the Snake. It is an important part of traditional Chinese culture, carrying the common expectations of mankind for reunion, happiness, satisfaction, and well-being, Chen said.

"We look forward to working with everyone in the New Year to make the China-Tanzania friendship tree more deeply rooted and fruitful," she said.

"Watching all these programs, I can truly feel that the festive atmosphere is becoming more vivid and the spirit of the Spring Festival is all around," said Zhou Dao, a Chinese logistics worker working in Tanzania.

An early move into the Spring Festival mode would greatly help promote excellent traditional culture, boost the development of the holiday consumer market, and balance supply and demand, said Zhou Qingjie, a professor at China's Beijing Technology and Business University.