Celebrating Chinese New Year

Cardiff Business School, which is home to a dynamic international community, recently celebrated the Lantern Festival for Chinese New Year.

Held on Friday 10 February 201, the Lantern Festival traditionally marks the final day of the Chinese New Year celebrations. This year, the final day of Chinese New Year was Saturday 11 February.

The event was organised by Dr Jane Lynch, Director of Student Experience, Cardiff Business School, and Professor Yubei Zhou, Academic Director of Cardiff Confucius Institute, as part of the School’s ongoing #givesomethingback campaign. This campaign is raising funds for Cancer Research UK. The first donation to the charity, following activities held at the end of the last semester, totalled more than £1,000, and was made in January 2017.

During the event, the Postgraduate Teaching Centre was filled with the colourful and intricate lanterns and Chinese knot decorations. Undergraduate and postgraduate students from all nationalities were invited to workshops, offered by the Confucius Institute, on Chinese painting, Chinese calligraphy, paper cutting or, for those who wanted to challenge themselves, solving traditional Chinese riddles.

Professor Yubei Zhou remarked that it was good to see students from other nationalities learning about important Chinese customs and the day was an important opportunity for Business School students from China to meet members of the Confucius Institute. One student commented “how wonderful it is to see these decorations from home here at our Business School”.

Dr Jane Lynch, Director of Student Experience at Cardiff Business School, said: “We have a significant international community including many Chinese students and it was fantastic to celebrate the traditional end of the Chinese New Year.

“It is important to us that we celebrate and recognise the culture and customs of our international students and faculty. It helps to foster greater levels of understanding and respect, establishing stronger bonds of friendship and collegiality. We also take the opportunity to introduce and share Welsh and British customs and are looking forward to our next event in celebration of St. David’s Day on March 1^st”.

Find out more about the events and activities of the Cardiff Confucius Institute.