The Chinese community gathered in numbers at the Yat Sen school hall in Flagstaff yesterday to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

The function was sponsored by the USP’s Confucius Institute which has partnered with the Chinese Association of Fiji to celebrate the New Year.

The event was celebrated by the young and old with the lively and colourful traditional lion dance opening the celebrations.

The President, Major-General (Ret’d) Jioji Konorote and the First Lady Sarote Konote were the chief guests at the auspicious occasion.

The Chinese community and invited guests enjoyed themselves throughout the event as there were lucky door prizes being announced with people with the lucky ticket numbers who more than happy to dance towards the stage to claim their prizes.

Also Yat Sen Primary and Secondary students performed various traditional dances such as the fan dance which was applauded by many and was appreciated by the Chinese community as it was part of their culture and tradition.

The event marks the beginning of the Year of the Fire Monkey and the end of the Year of the Goat; this festival is also known as the Chinese Spring Festival.