The Sunday Mail
Kuda Bwititi —
LONG Cheng Plaza in Harare will today be a hive of activity as it hosts China’s New Year Gala, with several fun-filled activities lined up for the event.
Also known as the Spring Festival, the celebrations will be held as a lead up to China’s New Year, which falls on 28 January this year.
The packed potpourri of activities will include a business expo, food festival, lion dancing, the Chinese New Year Traditional parade, funfair for kids, music from DJs, fireworks and cultural performances from local and Chinese artistes.
Dubbed the Year of the Rooster, China’s New Year’s celebrations will be held by the Chinese community in different parts of the world; and Zimbabwe is not being left behind.
Addressing journalists at the second China-Zimbabwe Media Forum in Harare last week, Secretary General of the Zimbabwe-China Business Association Ms Li Manjuan said an assortment of performances have been lined up for what promises to be a massive event.
“The main celebrations for the Chinese New Year’s gala will be held on the 15th of January from 9am to 7pm at the Long Cheng Plaza. The activities will include a business expo, food show, dancing, music shows, fireworks and a charity draw.
“Other features of the event will include display of different cultures, showcasing both Zimbabwean and Chinese culture.
There is also going to be a street parade, Kung-Fu performances as well as lion dance,” she said.
Ms Li said the event will also see a unique performance from artistes combining Chinese traditional music with marimba.
“We are also going to have China’s traditional music being played together with marimba.
“This is part of fusing different cultures as well as showing how the friendship between our cultures have developed into a unique artistic bond.
“There are going to be other different cultures on show, and people from different countries will also showcase their various foods, such as Zimbabwe’s food, Indian food and sea food during the food festival. The event will close in the evening with a display of fireworks.”
Ms Li said the Chinese community in Zimbabwe is on a drive to enhance cultural relations between the two countries to build on the strong friendship that has continued to grow between Harare and Beijing.
The Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe-China Business Forum and the Chinese Federation of Zimbabwe have been enthusiastically promoting arts to empower locally talented youths.
One of the successful upshots of the drive to promote arts is the Dream Star Zimbabwe Talent show, which has seen winners receiving scholarships to China as well as decent cash prizes.
China’s New Year celebrations are a major highlight for the Chinese community, which believes that a good start brings luck for the rest of the year.
The lunisolar, which is a calendar whose date indicates the moon phase and the time of the solar year, determines the date of Chinese New Year and is also used in countries that have been influenced by, or have relations with China – such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
In the Gregorian calendar (most widely used calendar), the Chinese Lunar New Year begins at the new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February.
