Guests enjoyed various cultural activities arranged by TAG- Confucius including traditional Chinese cuisine, documentaries and Chinese music

AMMAN--------January 26, 2012-------- Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Confucius Institute (TAG- Confucius) is celebrating the Year of the Dragon with traditional celebrations marking the Spring Festival which is widely known as Chinese New Year. In China, the festival is celebrated across the country with various cultural activities such as the famous firework shows, dragon and lion dancing to mark the Chinese New Year.

Various cultural activities, arranged by TAG- Confucius in the presence of the Cultural Attach at the Chinese Embassy in Amman Mr. Wang Baolai , officials at the Embassy, the Institute’s staff and students in addition to many guests interested in the Chinese culture, included traditional Chinese cuisine, documentaries and Chinese music.

Mr. Baolai commended the ongoing progress achieved by the Institute stating that such events enhance cultural exchange between China and Jordan from one side and promote the Chinese culture and language from the other.

He also underlined the Institute’s participation in the various Chinese language competitions saying that the Institute provides an appropriate educational environment for its members which contributes in increasing the number of people interested in learning the Chinese language.

Mr. Mustafa Al Husseini, TAG-Confucius director said:"It is one of the important traditional festival and a public holiday in China and we are happy to be part of it by celebrating with our Chinese friends this holiday. We have organized several activities for our guests to enjoy." Mr. Al Husseini added:"We are happy to welcome students, Chinese Embassy officials and guests to our celebration which also includes documentaries about China and Chinese language and history in addition to old Chinese costumes and musical instruments." Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the New Year and ends on the full moon15 days later.

The 15th day of the New Year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. Each year of the Chinese lunar calendar is represented by one of twelve animal symbols of the Chinese zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Boar. For 2012, it’s the dragon’s turn. About TAG- Confucius Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Confucius Institute was established in September 2008 to promote the Chinese language and culture, in order to reach a better mutual understanding between Arab and Chinese cultures.

This is one-of-a-kind initiative based on the cooperation agreement between Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org) and the Confucius Institute in China. The Institute was named after Confucius, the world-renowned great thinker, educator and philosopher in Chinese history. Confucius' thoughts have influenced China and other areas in the world for nearly 2000 years.