Couplets
Before the New Year comes, Chinese people decorate their rooms featuring an atmosphere of rejoicing and festivity. Spring Festival couplets will be put up, highlighting Chinese calligraphy with black characters on red paper, which means good luck and happiness..
Calligraphers and painters of Hangzhou Artists Association, Hangzhou Calligraphers Association, and Hangzhou Painting Academy were invited to the Sports Branch to write couplets for citizens. Zhang Zixiang, president of Hangzhou Artists Association, Wu Xinru, vice president of Hangzhou Calligraphers Association both showed their calligraphy skills. About 120 couplets and 80 Chinese character "fu" (meaning blessing or happiness) were given to the attendees.
Paper-cutting
Paper-cutting is a traditional Chinese craft commonly seen during the Spring Festival, which reflects many aspects of life such as prosperity, health or harvest. Li Jiren, a teacher of Hangzhou University for Seniors, was invited to the library on 3rd day of the first lunar month. Mr. Li showed a few different techniques of paper-cutting and the eager attendees couldn’t wait to make their own works. The whole activity lasted for nearly two hours, and was reported by Hangzhou TV channel 2, attracting nearly 100 attendees.
Lantern Riddles
Guessing lantern riddles is a very popular activity during the Spring Festival. A lantern riddles salon was held on 21 January, attracting 30 people.
Pan Peisheng, chairman of Lantern Riddles Institute talked about the brief history of lantern riddles, lantern riddles and the city Hangzhou, lantern riddles and riddles, as well as four different types of riddles. Besides, he invited the attendees to participate in guessing lantern riddles.
Shaoxing Opera
Performance of Shaoxing Opera for Celebrating Lantern Festival was held on 11 February, attracting more than 300 audience. Many visitors came from Jinhua, Lishui, Wenzhou, Jiaxing, and Shanghai.
Some famous local artists, like Chenyi, Liaoqiying joined the performance, as well as the artists from Shanghai, like Hu Peidi, Zhu Jun, Wang Liumei and Zhu Liyan, also sang for the audience.
What make the performance special is that the performance initiator, Shi Daihong, a Chinese American dedicates herself to the inheritance of Shaoxing Opera, which explains why she always actively engages in organizing the events of Shaoxing Opera when she is in China.
