NICE, France -- The billionaire chief executive of the Chinese conglomerate Tiens has given 6,400 of his best salespeople a vacation that started in Paris and ended with a parade on France's Cote d'Azur.

CEO Li Jinyuan said he was celebrating the company's 20th anniversary by rewarding his staff and aimed for the world record in spelling out a phrase in human bodies.

As their vacation wound down, the employees on Friday massed on the coastal promenade in Nice and, dressed in identical sky blue hats and T-shirts, spelled out the words "Tiens' dream is Nice in the Cote d'Azur."

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Some images of the scene were posted on Twitter:

Oltre 6 mila cinesi in vacanza a Nizza: viaggio premio offerto dal padrone della #Tiens. pic.twitter.com/emee2ziIcw — Altri Mondi Gazzetta (@AltriMondiGazza) May 10, 2015

Jinyuan was greeted by France's foreign affairs minister, Laurent Fabius, mid-week in Paris.

French media estimated the trip's cost at 13-20 million euros ($14.5-$22.3 million).