AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Multiple events and performances celebrating the Chinese New Year have contributed joyous moments to the Auckland communities in New Zealand on Saturday.

With Chinese culture and food becoming increasingly popular among the Auckland population, the Chinese New Year celebration is also welcomed by communities across the metropolitan city.

Shopping malls, markets, business chambers, local libraries and religious temples, all presented Chinese New Year celebration events to attract bigger public engagement.

A Chinese New Year celebration event was held on Saturday afternoon at a shopping mall in Auckland's North Shore suburb Albany.

The lion dance, with its strong drum rhythm and high spirit, attracted many shop-goers lining up to interact with the performers. While the magic Sichuan Face-changing Opera left many audiences amazed and applauding.

The music from Chinese traditional instruments such as Guzheng, the songs and performances by local Chinese Children, the calligraphy by Chinese artists, the Hongbao Red envelopes sent by the mascot, have all brought an authentic Chinese New Year experience to community members and shop-goers.

It was the first time the shopping mall setting up a dedicated stage for the Chinese cultural performances at its Chinese New Year celebration event.

Tamika Adams, the shopping mall's brand experience executive, was pleased to see a great public engagement with this year's Chinese New Year celebration event.

"You can see people here are very interested in the Chinese New Year event. It is an excellent shopping experience for our customers. Also many of our customers are from the Chinese and Asian community. We would like to engage them further," said Adams.

Zhiyun He, President of Pacific Culture and Arts Development Association Inc., who helped to facilitate the celebration event at the shopping mall, told Xinhua that there is an increasing awareness of Chinese culture among New Zealand social organizations and business entities.

"We have seen more businesses and organizations being eager to engage with the Chinese community, sharing our culture and celebrating our festivals," said He.

John Morton, a local shop-goer, enjoyed the celebration event and took many photos and videos of the performances. He was excited to see the Chinese New Year celebration in his community.

"I love the opportunity to celebrate the Chinese New Year and I love the cultural performances. We are lucky to be in New Zealand that we are able to have such a wonderful cultural event, at a time when many other countries are in COVID-19 chaos," said Morton.

Various celebration events for the Chinese New Year were also held on Saturday in Auckland suburbs of Takapuna, Mt Albert, East Tamaki, Glenfield, Milford, and Henderson and so on.

New Zealand is currently at COVID-19 Alert Level One with no restriction on gatherings. Enditem

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