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Celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year in the City

Chinese-New-Year-2013Moonta Street is set to party large this year with the biggest ever Chinese Lunar New Year celebration to hit Chinatown on Saturday 16 February.

Kicking off at noon the street party, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the event, will expand to include Gouger Street, which will be closed to through traffic for the first time, making way for the more than 750 people who have already booked their spots to enjoy expanded outdoor dining and live entertainment.

The street event will have something for everyone including the traditional lion dance, face painting for the children, cooking displays and other cultural experiences.

“Chinese New Year is always a special time,” said Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood.

“Our cultural, business, tourism and trade relationships are growing rapidly and this year we welcome a number of senior Chinese dignitaries and other representatives to Adelaide to join in the New Year Celebrations and further Adelaide-China engagement.

“It’ll be great to see what our visitors think of Chinatown, especially considering for many South Australians it is their first introduction to Chinese culture,” he said.

Adelaide City Council is supporting the expanded Lunar New Year celebrations through its City Activation program.

Stephen said Adelaide and China’s connection through the Australian Asian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is being further developed on the back of the State Government’s China Strategy released in December, and Council’s own International Partnership Strategy.

Over the coming year, he will work to further strengthen Adelaide’s relations with China, and position Adelaide front of mind for Chinese people looking for business, tourism and education opportunities.

President of Adelaide’s Chinatown and the Australian Asian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Irena Zhang says the celebration is a great way to gain a greater understanding of the huge opportunities that await South Australian business and industry in China.

“Ten years ago when I first hosted the first trade delegation from South Australia to China there were six or seven business people involved,” she said.

“At that stage, people in China had no idea how to drink wine – they were mixing red wine with lemonade – so we knew it would be a tough market to crack!

“Fast forward to today and one of those companies in the original delegation is now selling wine by the container-load to China every year,” she said.

China’s ambassador to Australia, H.E. Mr Jai Qinglin, an important figure in unlocking trade between the two nations, and his wife will join the Governor of South Australia, the Premier and the Lord Mayor of Adelaide and many others to celebrate this exciting time.

Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood will co-host the celebrations on Saturday.

 

ROAD CLOSURE:
Gouger Street will be closed between Morphett Street and the Central Market car park traffic lights from 4 am on Saturday until 8 am on Sunday. Motorists will still be able to access the car park from the eastern end of Gouger Street, or from the Grote Street entrance/exit.

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