UNITED NATIONS, June 25 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese artistic performance was held at the UN headquarters on Monday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of UN Public Service Day.

Commemorated on June 23, the United Nations Public Service Day was established in 2002 by a General Assembly resolution to "celebrate the value and virtue of service to the community."

Altogether 44 public organizations from 29 countries received the United Nations Public Service Awards for their excellent service.

"The UN Public Service Day intends to celebrate the value and virtue of public service to the society, and play a vital role in highlighting the importance of public service in the process of development," said Li Baodong, Chinese permanent representative to the UN, at the beginning of the performance.

"Over the past ten years, by awarding the public sectors and service institutions with outstanding contributions, the United Nations have promoted the role, professionalism and visibility of public service, encouraged more innovation from public servants and greatly improved the quality and effectiveness of public service," he said.

Co-sponsored by the Division for Public Administration and Development Management of UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and China International Cultural Communication Center, the performance dubbed as "Sound of Harmony" showcased Chinese traditional drumbeats performance, gesture language dance, oboe and Erhu solos, etc.

In addition, China Hong Kong Gourmet Week was also launched as a part of the celebrations for the 2012 UN Public Service Day.

"China has all along highly valued and supported the UN Public Service Day event. We participated in all the previous annual celebrations," Li said. "I am sure that the events will play an important role in expanding the influence of the UN Public Service Day and promoting the friendly exchanges between China and the rest of the world."