“City First In Country To Celebrate Chinese New Year”

Can you say happy New Year in mandarin? By the end of January 2012, more Amdavadis will say ‘Xin nian kuai le!’ as Ahmedabad is all set to become the first Indian city to elaborately celebrate the Chinese New Year. The festivities will start on the first day of the Chinese new year – January 23 – and go on for the next 20 days in typical Chinese tradition.

This will also be a precursor to the Vibrant Gujarat summit in 2013 when the Chinese are expected to play a big role, after chief minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit there.

The first Chinese contingent will participate in the Uttarayan festivities on January 14 and get a taste of Gujarati style revelry, but from then on the dragon will take charge with cultural events, academic seminars and even crash courses in mandarin. The Gujarat chapter of the India China Economic & Cultural Council (ICEC) is lining up the celebrations and firming up plans with the governments of Gujarat and China.

During his China visit, Modi had a long meeting with the mayor of Sichuan province and requested him to feature the culture of the province in the Amdavadi celebrations. As a result, Chinese chefs will introduce the city to their culinary delights. “The dance troupe-cum-acrobat team will perform at various locations and also interact with local dance companies,” says ICEC chairman Jagat Shah. “We will so provide capsule courses in mandarin language to local tour organizers,” Shah adds. “Ahmedabad’s tourism companies will be encouraged to tie up with Chinese firms during the festival.”

Chinese sports coaches will share some of their secrets on how they churn out Olympic gold medalists one after another when they interact with sports groups and associations.

WHAT CHINESE HAVE IN STORE

Food festivals
Road shows featuring Chinese cities
Interactive sessions with sports coaches
Academic tie-ups with Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University
Performances by Chinese acrobats and dance troupes
Crash courses in mandarin for traders and tour operators