Mourilyan ramping up

A BANNER wishing visitors a happy Lunar New Year was the sign that Chantal Chi knew that she was going to enjoy her visit to Cairns.

The Taiwan-born Thai blogger said the way that Cairns embraced Chinese New Year made her and other tourists from Asian countries feel right at home.

“We came to Cairns for two or three days and when we arrived at the airport there was a gong xi fa cai happy new year sign,” she said.

“We were so happy to see that because now we feel more than welcome.”

Ms Chi said travelling to Cairns with her husband during the start of the Lunar New Year was an easy choice because it had a reputation as a Chinese-settled city with plenty of new year celebrations.

She said visiting the city during Chinese New Year allowed her to couple festivities with a dream visit to one of the world’s most famous natural wonders, the Reef.

Ms Chi visited the Cairns Museum where manager Suzanne Gibson took the couple on a tour and shared information about Cairns’ Chinese pioneers. More of the city’s past and its intertwined connection with Chinese settlers and culture would be unveiled next Saturday in a new exhibition Deep Roots: understanding the Lit Sung Goong and the Temple Collection. service the market from Airlie Beach north and west to Mount Isa, creating savings on transportation that could be passed on to customers at the bowser.

The construction phase would create about 100 jobs.

A government spokesman said negotiations were ongoing.