Guo Gangtang (right) receives an honorary certificate during the festival. [Photo provided to China Daily]

The seventh Chinese Parental Love and Filial Piety Cultural Festival was held in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, on Sept 22.

The event was organized by China News Service and Lingyin Temple.

Filial piety is a Chinese term that represents love and care for one's parents. A household proverb in China states that filial piety tops all virtues.

Nine role models (individuals or groups) for parental love and filial piety were honored during the festival, including: Guo Gangtang, who spent 24 years crisscrossing China on his motorbike in search of his abducted son; Xie Lijuan, who consistently helped juvenile offenders rehabilitate and return to society with practical skills; as well as a charitable organization that runs the "Grandma's Gifts" program that helps boost the agricultural businesses of empty nest seniors in villages.

During the festival, three celebrities were appointed as ambassadors for the culture of parental love and filial piety. They were Deng Yaping, a former table tennis player who won 19 world championships, Hou Jingjian, a young actor who played the young Chairman Mao Zedong in the hit television series The Age of Awakening, and Zheng Peiqin, a famous soprano.

"Although I'm very busy with work, I visit my parents whenever I am free. I hope everyone can spend more time with their parents and practice our traditional Chinese virtues of filial piety in our daily life," said Deng.

Deng Yaping is appointed as an ambassador for the culture of parental love and filial piety at the festival. [Photo provided to China Daily]