Up to 2019, the Confucius Institute at the University of New South Wales Sydney has collaborated with the Bayside Council to host the Chinese New Year Festival for the local community for five consecutive years. Celebrations for Chinese New Year at the Dacey Gardens have become a tradition for the Confucius Institute, and the event only got bigger and better this year, attracting around 2000 people. 

This year’s guest speakers included the Honourable Mr. Matt Thistlethwaite MP, Federal Member for Kingsford Smith; Mr. Michael Daley MP, State Member for Maroubra; Mr. Ron Hoenig MP, State Member for Heffron; Mr. Bill Saravinovski, Mayor of Bayside Council; Mr. Niu Wenqi, Education Counsellor of the Chinese Consulate General in Sydney; Mr. Neil Morris, Vice President of Campus Life and Community Engagement at UNSW Sydney; Mr. Rhys Palmer, Head of International Affairs at UNSW Sydney and Associate Professor Junfang Xi, Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute at UNSW Sydney. 

The event consisted of traditional Chinese arts and crafts, such as Chinese dough-shaping and calligraphy, as well as traditional Chinese musical instruments and Chinese dance performances. Stalls with traditional food from Asia were in high demand with the crowd and the lines extended out across the gardens. Face painting was also very popular, and many children had traditional animals, delicate flowers and happy pigs painted across their cheeks and foreheads as they bounced around, enjoying all the sights. There were also demonstrations of Chinese martial arts and Tai Chi, but the main highlight of the night was, of course, the energetic Lion Dance.  

The Chinese New Year Festival and the events held at the Chinese Garden of Friendship truly demonstrate the strong dedication that the Confucius Institute is committed to cultivating cultural understanding between people; not only that, the Confucius Institute has connected and will continue to connect to not only university students but also the local community.