Last weekend, the Huntington Library and Gardens celebrated Chinese New Year.  I spent Saturday afternoon seeing as much as I could, and … WOW!!!  It was incredible!

When you first walk in, you see the lanterns & banners celebrating the year of the Tiger.

I started in the Chinese Gardens, which is probably my favorite spot in all the Huntington Gardens. It’s spectacular, with a huge lake, many pagodas, bridges and crooked walkways to confuse evil spirits. 

And traditional music was all around.

At the Dorothy Collins Brown Garden Lawn, the Guo Jie Tai Chi Academy demonstrated Wushu Tai Chi, including sword, spear & fan, and Taiko drums.  These were incredible! 

Tai Chi is artistic on its own, but the fan and sword dancers take the art to a new level of skill, grace & beauty.  This was one of my favorite demonstrations.

Taiko drums are Japanese, not Chinese, so it seemed a little unusual to include them in a Chinese New Year’s celebration.  But, personally, I love Taiko drums.  It’s an art of sound and visual beauty.  It’s not simply drumming, but drumming with arm gestures – a choreography, if you will.

The Lion Dancers from Northern Shaolim Kung Fu gave a performance that was fun for the whole family! Although they had to keep somewhat socially distant, they still got close enough to the audience that the children could pet the lions. 

Martial Arts performances from Shaolin Temple Cultural Center USA were high energy and impressive.  I got to this demonstration about 5 minutes late, and I was in the back of the crowd and didn’t see much.  I extended my camera’s selfie stick as high as it would go and pointed it towards the demo.  Once I saw the footage, I sorely regretted being late and not having a front row seat to this.

Peifang Liang demonstrated brush painting, and Tang Qingnian created calligraphy for attendees. 

Rosa Zee of the Chinese Floral Arts Foundation, USA Charter, created a gorgeous Chinese Floral Arts display in the recently-opened Celebration Court.

There were other exhibits and demonstrations that I missed this year, but I will be sure to see next year.

If you would like to see more of the Chinese New Year’s celebration, then click on the video, below.