Enter the dragon: 2012 The Year of the Water Dragon

This year, the Chinese or Lunar New Year marks the beginning of the year of the water dragon. It began on January 23 and culminates about two weeks later on February 4 with the lantern festival. The lantern festival will be held at Gallipoli Reach from 6:15 to 9:00pm.

In Canberra, the Canberra Multicultural Forum, the Australia China Friendship Society, the Prosperous Mountain Lion Dance troupe, and ACT Chinese-Australian Association are hosting a number of events celebrating the Chinese New Year.

The Lucky Dragon Family Festival

The National Museum of Australia in Canberra is also celebrating the historical and cultural links between China and Australia at a special family day event on January 26 which is Australia Day. The free family event will include the China Doll stilt walkers, a Tai Chi demonstration, and Chinese dancing and music from the Australian Chinese Culture Exchange and Promotion Association. There will also be the opportunity to make Chinese paper dragon puppets and to learn how to tie a Chinese knot. Other highlights include a dragon boat demonstration on Lake Burley Griffin and a tea ceremony. The Lucky Dragon Family Festival at the National Museum of Australia also marks the closing days of the exhibition “A New Horizon: Contemporary Chinese Art.” The exhibition is a display of Chinese art since 1949 on loan from the National Art Museum of China in Beijing including 62 ink-and-wash and oil paintings, eleven sculptures and a new media work that shows the evolution of Chinese art. The exhibition closed on January 29.

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