Expats join elderly in celebrating Lantern Festival

24 Feb 2024

SHINE

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Initiated by the Shanghai NEY Charity Foundation, the event created a festive atmosphere at the compound featuring community-based care for the elderly"...

International residents in Huacao Town, located in Shanghai's suburban Minhang District, were invited to celebrate the Lantern Festival with the elderly at the Evergreen Homeland community on Saturday.

Huacao is one of the largest international communities in Shanghai, with more than 9,600 expats from around 80 countries. It also hosts seven international schools and eight international medical institutions.

Initiated by the Shanghai NEY Charity Foundation, the event created a festive atmosphere at the compound featuring community-based care for the elderly population. Both the elderly and the expats were invited to make tangyuan (glutinous rice balls with soup) and lanterns, and enjoy performances including Huju opera, lion and dragon dances.

Gerwin Schalk, visiting professor at Fudan University and Huashan Hospital, and Jean-Paul Paddack, senior adviser to the director general of World Wildlife Fund International, were invited to paint the eyes of the dragon and lions during the performance. This is an important session in the celebration ritual.

It was the first time for both to celebrate the Chinese festival in Shanghai.

Schalk has been living in the Evergreen Homeland community for two years and has joined celebrations of some other traditional Chinese festivals, but it was the first time he has spent the Lantern Festival with locals.

"I appreciate it very much. China has such a rich culture and so many celebrations, very different from the West, but very colorful and very lively," he said.

Paddack arrived in Shanghai on Friday for an annual meeting of WWF International next week and was glad to have the opportunity to join locals on the Lantern Festival, which marks the end of Chinese New Year celebration.

"It's a very nice celebration," he said.

"For me, it's a symbol of friendship and respect to celebrate with the elderly people and young people coming together. It's a wonderful way of celebrating the New Year. I was very honored to have been invited to paint the eyes of the dragon and the lions."