The Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival is the most important and most joyful festival in China. Like in previous years, the JU Centre for Chinese Language and Culture Confucius Institute in Kraków organised a series of events to celebrate this occasion.
The celebrations to mark the end of the Year of the Monkey and the beginning of the Year of the Rooster started on 20 January 2017 with a New Year’s gala in the Jagiellonian University Auditorium Maximum featuring a performance of the Peking Opera. This most famous form of Chinese Opera, which has a 200-years-long history, combines singing, recitation, dance, and acrobatics. The attendees included the JU Vice-Rector for Research and Structural Funds Prof. Stanisław Kistryn, the Dean of the JU Faculty of International and Political Studies Prof. Zdzisław Mach, and the Cultural Counselor of the People’s Republic of China Embassy in Kraków Cai Lian.
The welcome address was delivered by the head of the Confucius Institute in Kraków Dr Joanna Wardęga, who pointed out that last year was a special year for the Confucius Institute in Kraków, which celebrated the 10th anniversary of the its foundation and was awarded with the prestigious title of the Confucius Institute of the Year. She also stressed that this especially successful year was to be crowned with a special event – the very first performance of Peking Opera artists in the city of Kraków.
On the second day of the celebrations, a number of open lectures, slideshows as well as workshops for both children and adults were held in the premises of the Confucius Institute in Kraków.
