Year of the Horse in global gallop

The fifth edition of Happy Chinese New Year, an annual event organized by the Ministry of Culture, is ongoing in nearly 300 cities worldwide to celebrate the Year of the Horse. The event features a dynamic program with more than 500 performances, art exhibitions, parades and tourism promotions, which runs until the Lantern Festival on Feb 14. The event presents a diverse Chinese cultural landscape, with highlights including a Chinese New Year concert conducted by Yu Long and performed by the New York Philharmonic, Lang Lang's solo concert at the Carnegie Hall and a horse-themed jewelry show at the Chinese Culture Center in Paris. People can also download an app from the Apple Store called Experiencing China that includes eight e-books about Chinese cuisine, architecture, operas and acrobatics with options of seven languages.

Russian dancers glitter in gala

A delegation of Russian ballet stars recently showcased their talent in the Great Hall of the People, presenting a gala show to Chinese people in celebration of a cultural exchange between Chinese and Russian youth. Internationally famous dancers, such as Maria Allash, Denis Matvienko and Sergei Polunin, performed well-known excerpts from La Bayadere, La Corsaire, and Spartacus. The show was sponsored by Russian companies Gazprom Bank and Sibur, and Chinese company China Environmental Energy Holdings. Russian officials, including Ambassador to China Andrei Denisov, attended the celebration.

Lantern fest continues in Chengdu

Visitors have been captivated by a lantern festival ongoing in the park-like Jinsha Site Museum in Chengdu, Sichuan province, which features large and rather bizarre illuminations including a snake wrapped around a dragon with the shell of a tortoise, a tortoise with the head of a bird and a dragon with a snail on its back. The festival, which started on Jan 28 and runs until Feb 15, takes its inspiration in part from the range of mythical creatures found in Chinese mythology. In addition to strange, brightly colored animals, the festival features lanterns in the form of horses, marking 2014 as the Year of the Horse in the lunar Chinese calendar. There are also displays honoring Korean culture and examples of food from various countries.

Kung fu classes aid earthquake relief

Chinese Hollywood star Jet Li will teach Chinese martial arts to local students in Mandalay, the central region of Myanmar. In the first step, Jet Li's foundation will drill basic kung fu skills to Myanmar students at two high schools in Mandalay. Upon the completion of the students' kung fu course, Jet Li himself will meet and instruct them in kung fu techniques during this year. The foundation will donate sports accessories to these high schools, which were struck by a strong and deadly earthquake in 2013. Jet Li One Foundation Project was founded by the actor in cooperation with the Red Cross Society of China with the purpose of raising funds for those affected by natural disasters.

Bulgaria embraces Lunar New Year

A Chinese dancing, music and martial arts show hit the Bulgarian stage on Monday as part of Spring Festival celebrations. Nearly 4,000 spectators watched performances given by Chinese Henan-based Zhengzhou Song and Dance Troupe, and Shaolin Tagou Education group. Martial-arts masters presented Shaolin kung fu skills with a variety of Shaolin weapons, including dual broadswords, chain rod, whip and dagger. Inaugurating the event, Chinese Ambassador to Bulgaria Wei Jinghua called the performance a Lunar New Year gift for the Bulgarian people. It marks the beginning of celebrations for the 65th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Bulgaria's Minister of Culture Peter Stoyanovich said the event has attracted a huge audience.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily USA 02/07/2014 page6)