Non-local students celebrated the Lunar New Year with President Way Kuo of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) via a virtual get-together on 19 February.

Around 70 non-local students from 16 different countries and regions joined the Lunar New Year Virtual Celebration 2021, which was organised by the Global Engagement Office (GEO). 

This online event enabled students from around the world studying at CityU to come together and learn more about this festival through traditions and must-dos at this time of year. In addition, students shared different ways that they celebrate new year where they come from.

President Kuo gave the students his warmest wishes for the Year of the Ox and picked the winners in the lucky draw. Everyone was very excited and had a great time.

Invited students also hosted a tutorial on useful Lunar New Year greetings in Cantonese, including 身體健康 (“May you stay healthy”), 心想事成 (“May all your wishes come true”), 笑口常開 (“May you always be happy and keep smiling”), and 過三爆四 (“May you get a high GPA”) – wishes that we should all have for the new year!

Ronny Torres Cardenas from Columbia studying in the College of Business said he enjoyed the event very much. “During the pandemic, with social distancing in force, it was nice to have an opportunity to send each other greetings and enjoy some happy moments together,” he said.

Sandra Shanly from India studying in the Department of Economics and Finance said the virtual celebration was an eye-opening experience because she genuinely did not know that so many different cultures celebrated this festival in so many different ways.