People watch lion dance during “Chinese New Year” celebration in Lisbon
LISBON, Jan 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — Actors perform dragon and lion dance in a parade held on Saturday in one of the main boulevards of the Portuguese capital to greet the upcoming Chinese Spring Festival, a celebration also known as the Chinese Lunar New Year.
The upcoming Chinese Year of the Rat will start on Jan 25. The event is celebrated all over the world by the Chinese community.
For the Chinese community living in Lisbon, this is one of the most awaited events of the year, which also brings the opportunity to show to the Portuguese people and to all international community living in the country their traditions by promoting the richness of the Chinese culture.
Organized by the Chinese Embassy in Portugal together with the Luso-Chinese Association of Traders and Industrialists and Lisbon’s City Council, Lisbon’s Chinese Spring Festival combined food, music and traditional dance performances.
Food stalls mounted in one of the sides of the Alameda D. Afonso Henriques, Lisbon, sold to the curious public some of China’s delicacies like the bread dumplings, the spring rolls, Chinese noodles, and tea. At the other side of the square, Chinese cultural associations showcased photography and painting.
On stage, among the few Chinese cultural groups, established in Lisbon, two dance groups traveled from China to participate in celebrations — one from Shaanxi Province, the other from the Choi Nong Chi Tai school in Macau. They brought folk dances and traditional songs alluding to the new year.
From the Minho region, north Portugal, a folk group performed traditional dances known has “rancho folcolorico”, making this an engaging event promoting intercultural dialogue between the two countries. — NNN-XINHUA