(Seychelles News Agency) - Relations between China and the islands today known as Seychelles started over a century ago when the first Chinese settlers came to our archipelago in the western Indian ocean. Today Seychellois of Chinese origins form part of a large community and are represented in all sectors of the society.

As the Chinese are about to start another New Year this weekend, SNA looks at some of the events that marked the Seychelles – China tie.

1. Chinese arrive in Seychelles

The Seychelles National Archives have records of the first Chinese arrival in the Seychelles in 1863 aboard a merchant ship. They were followed by a group of 23 more immigrants from Mauritius in 1886.

(Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC BY

2. Building of the Chinese place of worship

The Chinese pagoda, a place of worship, is built in 1902 near the main market in the capital, Victoria. After many years the structure was demolished and reconstruction has started for a new, modern one.

(April Amesbury, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC BY

3. Diplomatic ties

In June 1976, diplomatic relations between China and Seychelles were established.

(Jude Morel, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC BY

4. Exemption of visa requirements

In May 2013, Vice Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng paid a visit to Seychelles and signed the Agreement on Mutual Exemption of Visa Requirements on behalf of the Chinese government.

(StateHouse) Photo License: CC BY

5. Seychelles-China Day

The Seychelles historical ties with China and appreciation for the Chinese culture were highlighted in the first ever Seychelles-China Day celebrations in January and February 2014.

(Patrick Joubert, Seychelles Nation) Photo License: CC BY

6.  Seychellois students hosts a ZENN exhibition in Beijing

13 students studying at various Universities across China recently staged a 15-day exhibition at the AC Embassy hotel art gallery in Beijing in May 2015, as a means to bring them closer together and to use new techniques to combine two distinct cultures.

(Zeddy Benson and Lionel Donovan) Photo License: All Rights Reserved

7. Air Seychelles flies direct to China

In February 2016, Seychelles' national carrier, Air Seychelles, left Beijing, China’s capital city on its first direct from China to the island nation. 

(Patrick Joubert, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC BY

8. A piece of Chinese Guangzhou Garden in Seychelles

To celebrate the Chinese heritage and symbolize the cultural connection between Seychelles and China, a Guangzhou Garden was opened in December 2016 in the Botanical Gardens in the central district of Month Fleuri.

(Patrick Joubert, Seychelles News Agency) Photo License: CC BY