Chinese New Year survives wild weather

THE tiger roared as Chinese New Year celebrations kicked off in Sydney under a blanket of rain but thousands of cultural revellers remained captivated.
Thunderstorms closed in on Belmore Park in Sydney's CBD shortly after 7pm (AEDT) tongiht for the launch of the Chinese New Year 2010.

Celebrating The Year of the Tiger, more than 5,000 people - locals as well as overseas visitors - sampled Chinese food from dozens of stalls and took in authentic performances.

Visiting artists from Chongqing City in China performed an ancient face-changing ritual in which they wore brightly-coloured masks, swapped within a fraction of a second.

Other performances included lion dances, roving entertainers and a contemporary dance by Chen Wen of Sydney Dance Company.

But just before the good times rolled, rain bucketed down, forcing some revellers out of the park and under cover.

Luckily, most people brought umbrellas and remained for the festivities which saw rain ease and almost abate by the time scheduled fireworks concluded events.

British tourists Tom and Gemma Fowler found about the festival on the internet before they embarked on their Australian holiday.

The couple and their two young daughters, who live in Colchester about 100km from London, chose to spend their last night at the launch because they don't see much of other cultures back home.

"I quite like Chinese New Year stuff and I wanted to see what was going on here,'' Mrs Fowler told AAP.

Tessa Boyd-Cainem, who has been living overseas for the past five years, said she was surprised to find the launch had "become a really big thing''.

"I've always wanted to check it out but I've missed all the others in Sydney,'' she said.

The Chinese New Year Festival runs for nearly three weeks and will showcase 40 events, including Chinese markets, a film festival and a performance of Chinese opera.

The celebrations conclude on February 28 with the finals of the dragon boat race competition on Darling Harbour.

More than 600,000 people attended the 2009 Chinese New Year celebrations in Sydney.

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Critique:

Chinese New Year is just a day ahead! i think not only the chinese but everyone is anticipating. Over in Australia, the sudden rain almost spoil the chinese new year celebration. However in Malaysia, once again we experience the scorching new year sun and the freaking hot weather. The hot weather irritates the chinese because they always end up having their new clothes wet with sweat after house-to-house visit. So, its new year again, and we could feel the hotness since a week ago, the hot weather hints us " Chinese New Year is coming!!"

GONG XI FA CAI!

enjoy ur chinese new year holiday~