PM Narendra Modi expresses gratitude to Chinese people for participating in yoga events

BEIJING: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his gratitude to the Chinese people who turned up in large numbers to participate in yoga events on the International Day of Yoga.

"Glimpses of International Day of Yoga celebrations across China. My gratitude to all those who joined these celebrations in large numbers," he posted on Chinese microblog Weibo which is akin to Twitter.

"I joined a Yoga Day programme in the city of Chandigarh, where I spoke about the benefits of yoga," he said.

Modi has thousands of followers in his Weibo post, opened ahead of his visit to China last year. Over the years, yoga has become immensely popular in China.

Indian Embassy and Consulates in Shanghai and Guangzhou in association with local yoga centres organised scores of events in number of cities.

A large group of enthusiasts of Yoga and ancient Chinese martial art Tai-Chi took part in a ' Jugalbandi' exercise at the Great Wall organised by the Indian Embassy and the Chinese state-run Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries ( CPAFFC), climaxing a host of yoga events held across China in the run up to the International Yoga Day.