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Chinese Culture Club kicks off new year

Celebrating the Chinese New Year with fellow Bradley students only requires a short walk across campus to taste traditional Chinese dishes and participate in new years festivities.

The event will be held in Michel Student Center Ballroom from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. and is hosted by the Chinese Culture Club.

In planning the celebration, DanQing Huang, president of Chinese Culture Club, said the goal is to expose students to as much of the holiday’s traditions as possible. 

“In China, one of the traditions of Chinese New Year is to watch a big celebration on [a] National Channel. We [invited the] Peoria Chinese Association to perform in our event,” Huang, a senior industrial engineering major, said. “ [We will] also [be] having a big meal, [decorating] the house with red papers [and] many other Chinese traditions to celebrate the New Year.”

Students can also participate in activities like learning Chinese calligraphy, paper cutting, decorating Chinese hand-fans and lanterns, challenging games and giveaways.

Treasurer of Chinese Culture Club, Yijun Liu, said the success of last year’s celebration solidified the club’s plans to host in the future.

“There were over 200, almost 250 people [who] attended the event last year. It was more than what we expected,” Liu, a junior biochemistry major, said. “People enjoyed the performances and the activities. Lots of them said that they would like to come next year.”

According to Huang, everyone is welcome to celebrate, whether they’re familiar with the tradition or just a curious member of the community. Bradley students and children under 12 are free, while admission for faculty and community members is $5.

“Our goal for Chinese Culture Club is to be able to help students who are interested in Chinese culture to have some resources when they want to reach out. Also, we want to help raise the awareness of diversity in [the] Bradley community,” Huang said.

While this is the biggest event the club hosts, Huang said the club holds other events throughout the year, open to both members and interested students.

“We have regular meetings once every two weeks and outreach activities through the semester,” Huang said. “In regular meetings, we have interesting themes for every meeting. Sometimes we watch Chinese movies, learn Chinese language, Chinese crafting … We also plan on taking the members to Chicago China Town and visit the Field Museum for [the Terracotta Warriors].”

For more information on the event or to get involved with Chinese Culture Club, email bradleychineseculture@gmail.com or look for the club’s Facebook page.

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