~~Zayed University celebrates cultural diversity

The Confucius Institute celebrate the Chinese new year at Abu Dhabi Corniche

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates- February 14, 2016: The huge Chinese New Year celebration filled most of the Abu Dhabi’s Corniche with music and activities yesterday (Friday) in the capital.

Hundreds of citizens, residents, and Chinese expatriates gathered yesterday at Abu Dhabi’s Corniche to celebrate the Chinese New year festive held by the Confucius Institute at Zayed University to mark a prosperous start.

The Chinese new year, which is also known as the Spring Festival, is marked by the lunisolar Chinese calendar, so the date changes from year to year. Each Chinese New Year is characterised by one of 12 animals, which appear in the Chinese zodiac

The Chinese New Year, which has started on February 7 and ended on February 13, is usually celebrated with people dressing up in red, lighting crackers and giving money in red envelopes that will drive bad luck away.

Festive held to affirm the UAE’s keenness to celebrate cultural diversity and demonstrate respect for the people’s cultures of origin.

The event was attended by Lin Yado, Political Councilor of Chinese Embassy in the UAE, Professor Gu Weiping, Director of Confucius Institute at Zayed University, and Abdullah AlHourani, Director of Events and Activities for Abu Dhabi Beaches.

At the outset of the festive, Yado gave a speech in which he praised efforts exerted by Zayed University especially through the Confucius Institute, which promotes mutual understanding, spreads its language, culture, and traditions among the people of the UAE.

Yado also emphasized that arts and culture create meaningful connections between people and countries. 

During the festive, Professor Gu Weiping staged excerpts from the Classic Chinese Opera accompanied with music and great traditional performances such as, dragon and lion dances.

The Confucius Institute at Zayed University conducts diverse programs of language training and cultural awareness programs to promote languages and reinforce cultural exchanges.