The 2019 Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) is the most important traditional Chinese festival with a unique culture.

The programme included Chinese arts of tea, calligraphy, paper cutting, painting exhibition, guessing lantern riddles, making and eating jiaozi (Chinese dumpling), Chinese cultural performance by Chinese and Sierra Leoneans to promote teachers, students and local communities to learn about the Chinese spring festival.

Prof. He Mingqing said they were gathered to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year and experience the Spring Festival cultural activities at the Confucius Institute at the University of Sierra Leone.

He informed his audience that the institute has established 14 teaching sites, covering pre-school, elementary, secondary, and vocational and university levels, with students coming from not just schools but communities and enterprises. He added that the number of registered students has reached more than 500.

Mr. Webber who was the representative of the Vice Chancellor University of Sierra Leone stated that the Chinese Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, is observed worldwide with lots of cultural activities.

“For us in Sierra Leone, it is an opportunity for us to know what the Chinese Spring Festival is about; to experience the beauty and richness of the Chinese culture and to use the experience to further strengthen the relationship between the people of China and Sierra Leone,” he said.

H.E. Ambassador Wu Peng said he is happy to see the number of people involving in activities aimed at increasing China-Sierra Leone friendship to a new high. He added that more than 100 Sierra Leonean students have embarked on studies in China financed by the Chinese government scholarship program.