Chinese Year of the Dragon Welcomed in New York's Chinatown

For more news and videos visit ? http://english.ntdtv.com
Follow us on Twitter ? http://twitter.com/NTDTelevision
Add us on Facebook ? http://on.fb.me/s5KV2C

And up next we travel to New York City, where people said goodbye to the year of the rabbit. As our correspondent reports, it's become one of the biggest events in Manhattan's Chinatown.

In New York's Chinatown, Chinese New Year is one of the biggest celebrations of the year.

Yesterday was the final day of the year of the rabbit. We took a look around the Museum of Chinese in America—or MOCA as it's known locally.

Tour groups were heading out through Chinatown, hearing how the now-famous district started out, and how today it is divided into different regions.

Inside MOCA, patrons were checking out some traditional Chinese art forms.

[Mr. S.W. Sang, Chinese Culture Art Association Chair]:
"I hope in the coming year of the dragon to bring all the happy, healthy to the whole world."

Originally from Guangzhou, Mr. Guan Ziyuan has been a calligraphy artist for the past 10 years. He has five Western students learning the art. He hopes the people he came into contact with today will take away a special message from Chinese culture.

[Mr. Guan Ziyuan, Calligraphy Artist]:
"Our Chinese culture more than 5000 years' history. If you want to pass this culture down to westerners, we definitely have to use Chinese characters to express it. So I write calligraphy—pass this calligraphy to Westerners."

For families it was a good opportunity to learn more about Chinese culture. Like little Mikko and her mom, who watched the dancing.

[Mikko Kan-Adams, Audience Member]:
"I saw a dragon."

From last night, young children started receiving their red New Year envelopes filled with money. Here at MOCA, kids were given chocolate-filled envelopes. Some spoiling their dinners with it!

So as we welcome in the New Year of the Dragon, what message should we be taking with us?

[Mr. Guan Ziyuan, Calligraphy Artist]:
"Everybody communicate with each other, make our whole world come together, the whole world peaceful, and without war."

NTD News, New York.

View the original article here