Lantern Festival and CNY Celebration

On 12 February 2019, 20 International Student Ambassadors (ISAs), non-local students and exchange students celebrated the Spring Lantern Festival and the beginning of the Chinese New Year with some practical activities and a basin feast at the VTC Halls of Residence (Tsing Yi).

Hands-on experience. Glutinous rice flour, cane sugar, sesame, ginger and water are very simple ingredients individually, but put them together and they make an iconic dish in both ancient and modern-day China: sweet soup rice dumplings. Making this symbol of family unity and love was a fun — and tasty — way for students to create something together, and for Hall residents and ISAs to share non-local students’ first experience by not just making but also tasting this delicious dessert.

Fai Chun Writing. Throughout the evening, students had the opportunity to use a calligraphy pen to write blessings on red paper, composing not only traditional four-word Chinese phrases, but also affirmations for the year ahead, including “GPA higher than 3” and “Eat well sleep well every day”.

Riddle me this. To recreate an old night market vibe, lanterns with riddles attached were hung around the venue, both for decoration and an element of fun. Bursts of excitement and exclamations of relief could be heard as students guessed the right answers after racking their brains with real determination to figure them out for themselves. Can you guess the answers to the riddles below?

To wrap up a wonderful evening, even more local Hall residents joined the group for a basin feast with live traditional music – the perfect start to the New Year of the Pig!