A Chinese New Year celebration was held during the Spring Festival holiday at the Karori Library in Wellington, capital of New Zealand to welcome the Chinese New Year.

As part of the "Happy Chinese New Year" program, the event, jointly organized by the Wellington City Libraries, the China Cultural Center in New Zealand and the Shandong provincial department of culture and tourism, was designed as a joyful and accessible event for local communities to celebrate the Chinese New Year and experience Chinese culture.

The "Happy Chinese New Year" cultural program is a global activity for celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year hosted by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism and other Chinese authorities since 2009.

Hundreds of local families participated in the event, which included dazzling performances by the Jinan Acrobatic Troupe and Chinese culture experiencing activities such as writing calligraphy, making paper quilling and playing Chinese bamboo flute.

"Libraries in New Zealand serve as reading space as well as a community communication center for the public," said Guo Zongguang, director of the China Cultural Center in New Zealand.

"Local residents will get a better insight of China's acrobatic art, folk arts as well as the Spring Festival customs through the event," added Guo. 

"The library system consists of branches of the city's 12 districts and Karori is the community with the largest number of Chinese residents," said Zoe Miller, an official from the Wellington City Libraries.

Miller expressed her hope that the event would attract more residents from other ethnic and cultural groups to learn about Chinese culture and create a harmonious community with multiple cultures.

An actor from the Jinan Acrobatic Troupe performs one hand balance during a recent Chinese New Year celebration at the Karori Library in Wellington, capital of New Zealand. [Photo/WeChat account: CCCINZ]

Local kids and their parents are marveled at the excellent performance staged by the Jinan Acrobatics Troupe during a recent Chinese New Year celebration at the Karori Library in Wellington, capital of New Zealand. [Photo/WeChat account: CCCINZ]

Kids learn to play Chinese bamboo flute during a recent Chinese New Year celebration at the Karori Library in Wellington, capital of New Zealand. [Photo/WeChat account: CCCINZ]