Abu Dhabi: Celebrations marking the Chinese New Year were held on Wednesday at Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi, featuring festive parades, traditional and cultural Chinese performances of kung fu and awe-inspiring acrobatics.
The traditional Chinese ‘Tree of Wealth’ was also on display at Town Square, along with colourful Chinese decorations and red lanterns, entertaining spectators, local communities and tourists. The Chinese community will celebrate their new year on Saturday, January 28.
Visitors also enjoyed calligraphy lessons, Chinese language workshops offered by The Confucius Institute in Abu Dhabi, as well as sugar painting sessions.
The celebrations were inaugurated by Ni Jian, Chinese Ambassador to the UAE, who said, “We are delighted to inaugurate this special and heart-warming occasion at Yas Mall. Abu Dhabi is an extremely popular destination for Chinese tourists, and there is also a huge Chinese population living in the city. It is wonderful to see how Yas Mall is bringing together the entire community to celebrate Chinese New Year.”
Saud Khoury, general manager of Yas Mall, said, “We are proud to have gathered such an enthusiastic crowd at Abu Dhabi’s leading retail and entertainment destination. At Yas Mall, it is a priority for us to ensure that we engage visitors of all markets; particularly Chinese residents and tourists. We are constantly looking to engage our communities with a variety of activities celebrating the cultural diversity in the UAE.”
The celebrations will run for three weeks at Yas Mall in Abu Dhabi.
