Helping Manchester celebrate the Year of the Rooster

10 Feb 2017

2017 has been the busiest Chinese New Year ever for the Confucius Institute at the University

Chinese New Year (also known as the Spring Festival in China) is the most important Chinese festival. Celebrations take place at the turn of the traditional Chinese lunar calendar and traditionally last for 15 days, concluding with the Lantern Festival.

To mark the beginning of the Year of the Rooster in 2017, the Confucius Institute's team of permanent staff and seconded teachers from China spent several weeks delivering workshops to universities, schools, and cultural and business partners, including Hainan Airlines and Selfridges. Nearly 5000 people in Greater Manchester attended the workshops and learned about traditional Chinese culture through language tasters, Chinese paper cutting, Chinese music and Chinese tea ceremonies. A team of skilled teachers also helped to spread the New Year cheer at Manchester Arndale, giving families the opportunity to make their own badges and paper lanterns showing off their calligraphy artwork.

For the third year running, the Confucius Institute is working with Heart of Manchester BID, which supports the Manchester City Council and Chinatown’s yearly celebration of Chinese New Year with a contemporary Chinese New Year festival. Manchester's Chinese New Year celebrations are among the biggest in Europe, drawing around 90,000 visitors into the city centre.

Manchester BID Events Producer, Nelson Beaumont-Laurencia, said: "The Confucius Institute in Manchester has a comprehensive knowledge and understanding not only of Chinese tradition but also of contemporary China. As a contemporary Chinese New Year festival, working with Confucius Institute as a Cultural Partner is invaluable and brings new ideas and new people to festival. The Institute are also excellent at making Chinese culture accessible to everyone."

On Friday, 10 February, the Confucius Institute will co-host the annual Manchester Chinese New Year Gala at Manchester Central Convention Complex with the UK Chinese Students and Scholars Association. This event will open its doors to the local Chinese community and represent the Confucius Institute amongst large organisations and enterprises in Greater Manchester, as well as enriching the experience of students by offering them a varied programme of arts and culture.

To round off the festive season, the Institute will host its Chinese New Year Celebration Gala at the Royal Northern College of Music, with Jin Long Academy and Chengdu Arts Troupe. This unique and exciting show of cultural spectacle has come an annual highlight for children from local primary schools.

The Confucius Institute would like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous Chinese New Year of the Rooster.