A decade after Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the global campaign to establish International Day of Yoga, the ancient Indian practice is gaining remarkable traction in China, particularly in its eastern cities. The growing influence was on full display at the flagship IDY 2025 celebration hosted by the Consulate General of India in Shanghai, which drew diplomats, global professionals, and yoga enthusiasts under one roof.
The event was graced by Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China and a committed yoga practitioner. In his remarks, he hailed Modi’s leadership in globalising yoga and described it as a powerful tool for resilience, peace, and international connection. “This event reflects the shared commitment of India and the United Nations to promote health and harmony,” Chatterjee said.
Yoga’s expanding footprint in China
The Shanghai celebration was the culmination of a series of yoga events across cities like Hangzhou, Suzhou, and Wuxi, conducted in partnership with Indian diaspora groups, multinational corporations, and Buddhist monasteries. This diversity of stakeholders, officials said, reflected yoga’s widening appeal across social and cultural divides in China.
Consul General Pratik Mathur highlighted the significance of this growth. “It is heartening to see yoga embraced so widely — from MNC campuses to monasteries. This is not just a celebration of an ancient tradition, but a reminder of the civilisational ties between India and China,” he said.
He also invoked the recent tragedy of the Air India crash in Ahmedabad, noting that yoga’s teachings offer mindfulness and inner strength in times of grief.
Cultural bridge in a milestone year
The event took on added symbolism as 2025 marks 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and China. Yoga, officials said, is emerging as a quiet but powerful form of diplomacy: creating space for dialogue, health, and harmony at a time of complex global dynamics.
“Yoga is not just exercise, but a way of life that nurtures compassion and resilience,” Modi once said. In Shanghai, that message found new meaning — not just on mats, but in minds too.