STORY: Kenyans treated to Chinese culture during Spring Festival celebrations
SHOOTING DATE: Feb. 7, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 8, 2024
LENGTH: 00:04:55
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. STANDUP (English): RUTH WANGARA, Xinhua reporter
2. various of the celebration activities
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): STEPHEN KIAMA, Vice Chancellor at University of Nairobi
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): WANJJIKU MBUGUA, Chinese club patron
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MWILU RAPHAELA, Student
6. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): ZENA MWALE, Student

STANDUP (English): RUTH WANGARA, Xinhua reporter
"Hundreds of Kenyans joined the Chinese community in celebrating the Year of the Dragon, marking the Chinese New Year here at the University of Nairobi's Confucius Institute. This year they are celebrating the dragon that symbolizes auspicious opportunities and exciting advancement with the theme being 'The dragon is soaring and the drums are rolling for the Chinese New Year.'"

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): STEPHEN KIAMA, Vice Chancellor at University of Nairobi
"This year we believe that the Confucius Institute University of Nairobi will gain more momentum with the best of power, strength, courage, and vitality from the year of the Chinese dragon, 'loong.' The Confucius Institute is a good platform for cultural exchange between China and Kenya through an event like today's celebrations. We get to understand each other better, and I believe that the relationship between the two countries, that is Kenya and China, will be further strengthened by the presence of the Chinese here."

More than 10 corporate institutions including universities, high schools and international schools attended the event.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): WANJJIKU MBUGUA, Chinese club patron
"They call me Wanjjiku lao shi (teacher), we have come with USIU students to the University of Nairobi's Confucius Institute to mark with them the Chinese New Year, which is the Year of the Dragon. We came with 15 students and why I wanted them to come, is for them to interact with other students, understand how New Year celebrations are done and see the cultural bit of it, taste a bit of Chinese food, and for them, when they go back to the school to benchmark and now take it back to the students who are remaining in school."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): MWILU RAPHAELA, Student
"I have enjoyed the culture, the people, the dancers, the music, it's a vibe! So we are here to celebrate the Chinese culture, we are the Chinese club in school, so the lecturer brought us here to experience the culture, enjoy, and meet with the other Confucius students so that we can practice the language even more."

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): ZENA MWALE, Student
"We are here to appreciate the Chinese culture because of the New Year. The food has been really nice and you get to appreciate the diversity and the different taste of the food."

The Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi was established in 2005.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)