Happy Year of the Dragon

Student fun

Here on campus, LUU hosted a variety of events for students.

• In the LUU building we saw a fun afternoon of games and activities around the Year of the Dragon, including a quiz, a card game, and a "find your Chinese Zodiac sign" calculator.
• Crowds came top watch a lion dance performance, which started outside the Union building and moved into the foyer.
• The Vietnamese Society hosted an event to make lucky red envelopes (called "bao li xi" in Vietnam) with notes inside for a fortunate year.

A student writes...

Read what Yung Wong (2nd year BA Journalism student) wrote about the Spring Festival for our University community.

Group effort

Watch students and staff add their Spring Festival messages to our lightboard at Leeds.

Intercultural celebration

On 8 February almost 100 staff, students and friends welcomed the Year of the Dragon with educational presentations, music, snacks and cultural activities at a Business Confucius Institute event.

Mandarin lesson

The Business Confucius Institute celebrated with traditions and greetings in Mandarin.

Here's a sample of what Leeds alumni love most about Chinese and Lunar New Year.

Chloe Liu (MEd TESOL 2024) – Leeds

During the Spring Festival, I enjoy more than just the delicious foods - which include dumplings, fried dough twists, and spring rolls. I also appreciate the festive decorations like red couplets and hanging red lanterns, as well as traditional folk activities like lion and dragon dances.

But my favourite tradition is the red envelopes, also known as ‘hongbao’. As I am a younger member of my family, it’s a highlight for me when our elders give me these red envelopes containing ‘lucky money’. This tradition is by far my favourite part of the celebrations.

Qian Zhang (MEd TESOL 2017) – Barnsley

It is the warm feeling that I like and miss most about Chinese New Year.

When I was little, I was living in countryside with my grandma because my parents had to work in big cities to make a living. So for kids like me, Chinese New Year offered us the precious chance to stay with our parents for a couple of weeks. Every year, my mum cooks a tableful of dishes for the New Year's Eve Meal (nián yè fàn), and I especially love the fish cake dish. It is a local dish from my hometown, which is made from grass carp, eggs and pork. It normally takes about a day to make this dish, but if you've ever tasted this dish, you'd agreed with me that it is worth the wait.

Esther Li (MBA 2020) – Beijing

In the north of China, we eat dumplings stuffed with fennel for Chinese New Year.

Viola Chen (MBA 2020) – Shanghai

My favourite part of Chinese New Year is getting together with my family and spending quality time with them. We decorate the house, cook for the big reunion dinner, and enjoy traditional activities. I really love the lantern show which is a brilliant way to experience the holiday spirit. We post Spring Festival couplets and light fireworks to express happiness and invite good luck. The must-eat food is dumplings (one of the traditional Chinese foods) - its shape is similar to ancient silver and gold pieces. When you make and eat them, it's like you're creating and taking in wealth.

Liangtong Lu (MA Design 2019) – Yangjiang

China is a very large country, usually divided into north and south. I am Cantonese and from the south, and the flower market is a distinctive feature of Guangdong's Spring Festival. People visit on New Year's Eve to buy flowers and potted plants, symbolising the new year's vitality and prospect.

Moreover, the food is at its best in Guangdong during the Spring Festival. The reunion dinner is one of the most important customs, where families prepare a lavish meal. The dishes are not only a feast for the eyes and palate but also full of auspicious meanings, such as "Fa Cai Hao Shi" (oysters and sea moss for prosperity), "Nian Nian You Yu" (fish for abundance), and various cakes symbolising prosperity and harvest.

Xi Zhang (MSc Global Supply Chain Management 2020) – Shanghai

I really love setting off fireworks and watching them shoot into the sky, then seeing how they burst into a flower of vibrant colours. But more importantly, I enjoy the company of family and friends, hearing their cheers and laughter. It makes me feel incredibly warm inside.

Xiaoxu Wang (LLM International Business Law 2022) – Netherlands

I love my family's company and delicious food cooked with my mum at New Year.

Hebe Haibo Chen (MEd TESOL 2019) – Beijing

My favourite thing is the atmosphere at New Year.

Weijing Ke (MSc International Marketing Management 2017) – Shanghai

I love the decoration of dragon displays that can be put on the table or outside, stickers on the windows or doors, fireworks and crackers.

Weining Chen (MSc International Marketing Management 2022) – Chengdu

My favourite food during Spring Festival is dumplings.

Xinyue Yu (MRes Sport, Exercise & Rehabilitation 2022) – Yiwu

Fireworks on New Year's Eve are my favourite tradition.

Brian Wang (MA Audiovisual Translation & Localisation 2023) – Tianjin

I love the festive vibe during Chinese New Year – the vibrant red decorations, the upbeat lion dance music and the joy of crafting traditional paper-cuttings. Family gatherings over delicious dumplings and the excitement of receiving red envelopes make it truly special.

Kinman Tai (MSc Business Management 2023) – Manchester

I love the food, songs, and games at New Year.

Crystal Wu (MSc International Business 2015) – Shanghai

My favourite tradition at Chinese New Year is our New Year's Eve dinner. Households are all brightly lit and reunited family members have a big dinner together. It’s not just about the sumptuous feast, it‘s the time we spend with our loved one which makes it so special.

Shirley Xu (Accounting & Finance 2007) – Hong Kong

I love the flowers. Chinese New Year is the start of spring. I always have some flowers at home. Chinese flower arrangement is an art.

Danning He (MA Human Resource Management 2010) – Shenzhen

There are many things I love about Chinese New Year. This is a time when I eat all kinds of yummy food without needing to worry about gaining weight. I get together with friends and chit chat all day and night. The city is less crowded as people go back to their hometowns; it’s the one time when you feel a metropolitan city could be quiet and peaceful.

The most impressive part of Chinese New Year is its spiritual implications. On New Year's eve, I look back on what I have been through in the past year and what I have learnt. I set targets and make wishes for myself for the new year. This is a time when I rest and refresh myself, and prepare to move forward to new challenges in a new year.

Shuangyan Deng (MSc Financial Mathematics 2019) – Auckland

I love the tradition of having a family reunion.

Yoke Poon Chang (Electronic & Electrical Engineering 1979) – Singapore

I enjoy a reunion dinner and visiting relatives. At the reunion dinner family gather from far and wide at our ancestral home for that once-a-year meal.

Yaxian Wang (MA Human Resource Management 2018) – Beijing

I love the dumplings!

Carmen Zhang (MA Advertising & Marketing 2023) – Guangzhou

I like the fireworks the most, and the decorations as well.

Jiayan Ruan (MA Human Resource Management 2019) – Shenzhen

Chinese New Year is really powerful because it's definitely is one of biggest festivals and has many people celebrating across the world. Not only Chinese people, many Malaysian, Singaporean and others are celebrating too.

Ziying Wu (MSc Management 2018) – Shanghai

I love every red decorations the most at Chinese New Year.

Lina Fan (MA Advertising & Marketing 2020) – Chengdu

When I was a child, I looked forward to Spring Festival red envelopes, new clothes, food, and excitement. With time, I have become more interested in seeing my family. We play together, light small fireworks, enjoy fireworks, laugh at each other, and have fun!

Theresa Collante (PGCert Public Health International 2023) – Manila

We Filipinos love to celebrate the Lunar New Year by having a food crawl, eating noodles and "tikoy" in Binondo, Manila. Children enjoy the occasion because of the festive dragon dance and the money gifts (called "angpao") they receive.

Jenny Lu (MA Translation Studies & Interpreting 2021) – Shenzhen

My favourite Chinese New Year tradition is dumpling making. At Leeds, I celebrated Chinese New Year with other Chinese students by having a big meal together.

Chen Li (MSc International Marketing Management 2009) – Beijing

I love the red packet or lucky money that parents and older relatives give to children during the Lunar New Year to wish them good luck.

Dr James Shen (PhD Textile Industries 1991) – Shanghai

The Chinese Students and Scholars Association (CSSA) was like a home for us at Leeds, particularly during Chinese New Year. If we ever felt lonely or homesick, we would go to CSSA, to chat with fellow Chinese students, read Chinese newspapers, watch Chinese videos or play cards and sports, such as, ping pong or badminton which were the most popular sports amongst Chinese students.

I personally really appreciated the selfless dedication from the CSSA volunteers. The most memorable event was the annual Chinese New Year party organized by the CSSA. It was the biggest event of the year, and volunteers started organizing and planning months ahead of time. The program included a variety of artistic performances, such as, singing, dancing, and playing Chinese traditional musical instruments. Of course, we couldn’t forget including Chinese Food! We often did pot lucks, so Traditional Chinese foods, dumplings, spring rolls, fried rice and so on were assigned to different “households”. At the time 3-7 students would rent a house and live together as a “household". I could not play any musical instruments, although I could sing a few pop songs - most of time it was out of tune.

During the annual Chinese New Year parties, apart from the delicious Chinese dishes and beautiful artistic performances, I also enjoyed ballroom dancing. I danced through the night with my wife and friends. By the end of the night we were all sweating profusely. It was a good workout for the feast we just ate.

I really miss the annual dancing events at Leeds University during Chinese New Year. There is only two more days to go for the Chinese New Year, the year of the Dragon, and I am really excited that my wife and I plan to dance at Paramount Dancing Hall in Shanghai this year. We aim to always stay young at heart.

Video transcript

[The University of Leeds logo appears, music plays].

[Professor Hai Sui Yu, Interim Vice Chancellor and President appears on screen]. Hai Sui Yu says: Lunar New Year is a time for reflection and celebration. From all of us here at Leeds I want to wish you all the best for a healthy and happy Year of the Dragon. 

[A group of seven people from the Chinese Students and Scholars Association Leeds appear in a room on campus]. They say: Wishing you all good luck in the Year of the Dragon, may all your hopes be fulfilled. Happy Spring Festival. 

[Frances Noble, Comms and Engagement Office for the Business Confucius Institute appears, in a room on campus with traditional decorations and soft toy giant panda]. Frances Noble says: Wishing everyone 新年快乐 龙年大吉 Happy New Year, have an auspicious year of the Dragon. Happy New Year. 

[Footage of students taking part in activities including playing a zither (stringed instrument), Chinese calligraphy and writing messages on a lightboard].

Frances Noble says: If you’re celebrating in Leeds, far from home, we hope you find your community here. And if you are not familiar with Spring Festival, I hope you will also learn some of those phrases and get involved in the celebrations too. 

[Xin Li from the School of Education appears]. Xin Li says: Happy New Year, everyone. So 新年快乐、年年有余 that means we hope you have a bountiful year. 

[Professor Hai Sui Yu, Interim Vice Chancellor and President appears]. Hai Sui Yu says: As we leave behind 2023 and embark on 2024, I hope that it will be a successful year for us all. 

[A series of clips of students taking part in activities including making decorations from paper, Chinese calligraphy and writing messages on a lightboard].

Hai Sui Yu says: I’m very proud to be part of such a strong support team and truly international community of students, staff and alumni, and look forward to working together in the year ahead. 

[A group of ten people appear, they are in a restaurant, some are waving flags]. They say: We are in Beijing. Happy New Year.  新年快乐 万事兴隆 龙年大吉 Happy New Year, may everything go well, have an auspicious Year of the Dragon.

[Xiujuan Wu, Chinese Instructor, Business Confucius Institute appears]. Xiujuan Wu says: I’d like to wish everybody a Happy New Year.  新年快乐 (Happy New Year) and this year is the year of the Dragon. So 龙年大吉 (have an auspicious Year of the Dragon). 

[Professor Lynda Song, Director, Business Confucius Institute appears]. Lynda Song says: Happy New Year. Happy Lunar New Year. Happy Chinese New Year. Happy New Year. 

[Professor Hai Sui Yu, Interim Vice Chancellor and President appears]. Hai Sui Yu says: Whatever you’re doing to celebrate, please enjoy this special occasion and may the Year of the Dragon bring you and your family good luck. 

祝愿大家龙年吉祥！身体健康！万事如意！ 

Wishing everyone good luck and good health in the Year of the Dragon, may all your wishes come true.

[The University of Leeds logo appears, and the web address www.leeds.ac.uk].