Two days before the arrival of President Hu Jintao on a state visit, France affords China a rare honour Saturday when it opens up the Champs Elysees in Paris for a traditional dragon-and-drums new year parade.
In what promoters say is the first time the celebrated avenue has been devoted to a foreign cultural event - wartime German march-pasts excepted - the procession marking the start of the year of the monkey will be led off at 2:00 pm (13H00 GMT) by a 14-metre-long (45-foot-long) goldfish.
Altogether some 7,500 costumed participants and 54 giant floats will move down the tree-lined concourse from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place du Rond Point near the Elysee palace. Twelve giant totems designating the animal signs of the Chinese zodiac will line the route.
Divided under four themes entitled "Best wishes from Beijing," "The golden bridge of friendship," "The glory of the Chinese of France, and "Olympic glimmers," the procession will include teams of folkloric dancers, bicycle acrobats and martial arts specialists sent over from the Chinese capital.
A 110-metre undulating red-and-gold dragon - billed by organisers as the longest in the world - has been sent over in container-ships from Shanghai and after being assembled in workshops outside Paris will form the highlight of the parade.
Overhead the skies will fill with balloons, kites and banners as the Chinese community of Paris celebrates the Spring Festival or Chunjie, admittedly two days after the actual date. As darkness falls, eyes will shift across the river Seine, where the Eiffel Tower will pay its tribute - bathed in communist red.
Organised by the cities of Paris and Beijing with the help of 45 associations representing the Chinese community in France, the event has cost around 480,000 euros (610,000 dollars) and is meant to symbolise the network of ties and interests that increasingly bind the two countries.
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