A celebration to bring in the Year of the Rabbit took place in the city of Bengaluru in India, which is home to several Chinese nationals. The New Year Dinner and reception brought together friends and families to enjoy Chinese traditions as well as many entertaining performances. Radhika Bajaj has more.
No Chinese New Year Celebrations can be complete without the Lion and Dragon dancing. The difference in this performance though, was the music, local to the city of Bengaluru. The reception dinner was organized by the Consulate General of China, Mumbai that covers the important business centric states of Maharashtra and Karnataka in India.
KONG XIANHUA Consul General, Consulate-General of China in Mumbai "In our consular district, we are a big family, all the Chinese are family. Today we celebrate the spring festival together. And it's very important that Indian friends joined us and lot of Indian friends performed very good programmes. We share the same culture, we share the same visions, we enhance the friendship."
Over 170 Chinese companies are registered in India as foreign companies and many of them have made Bengaluru their base, resulting in a thriving community of Chinese nationals in the city. Chinese students in the city as well as Indian nationals with Chinese heritage attended the celebrations. The cultural performances included an Indian artist singing in Chinese as well as the arts of India.
DONGLI ZHANG Chinese Expat in India "Ya we're really glad to be here, first time celebrating Chinese New Year in India. I've lived here for three years, haven't been back to China because of the pandemic, I really miss home. I'm very glad that the consulate is organizing this event, really happy to be here."
CHENG HAORAN Chinese Student in India "Today I come here, I meet so many Chinese people, I feel like I meet my family. I feel so happy."
HONGYAN CHE Chinese Expat in India "I really wish my Chinese people Happy new year also I wish global peace and that people have very good health."
With wishes for happiness and recovery from what's been some difficult times, these celebrations brought a feeling of nostalgia and community for all those in attendance.
RADHIKA BAJAJ Mumbai, India "This Lunar New Year reception not only celebrated Chinese traditions like dances and food, it also showcased the close ties between Chinese nationals living in India with the local people making this a homely celebration away from home. Radhika Bajaj, CGTN, Bengaluru."
Read More at https://news.cgtn.com/news/2023-01-18/VHJhbnNjcmlwdDcwMjI3/index.html
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