Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations held in Manila

MANILA, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) – Some 1,000 Filipinos and Chinese on Tuesday celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year together by attending and applauding a cultural show at SM Mall of Asia in Manila.

The event, jointly organized by the Chinese Embassy to the Philippines, the Confucius Institute at Angeles University Foundation and some other local academies and schools, endowed all guests with a special experience of the Chinese traditional culture.

During the nearly four-hour-long spectacle, the Chinese and Philippine artists performed songs, dances and martial arts, which earned a big round of applause from hundreds of audience.

Hu Mengwei, a Chinese martial arts performer at the celebration, said it was the first time she performed Bajiquan boxing on such a big occasion abroad, which made her so excited.

“I started practicing martial arts when I was a high school student. I guess most of the Filipinos have never seen this type of martial arts, therefore I performed Bajiquan boxing to let them know more about Chinese martial arts,” Hu said.

The audience was also deeply impressed by the variety of inter-activities such as the calligraphy workshop, Chinese cuisine cooking show, Chinese costume dressing show and the lion dance.

“It is amazing. I’ve never seen a celebration show like this before,” said Anthony Lopez, a local visitor.

The cultural exchange is one of the best tools for mutual understanding and rapprochement of the two peoples.