Chinese Lunar New Year celebrated overseas

The festive mood of the Chinese Lunar New Year is spreading far away from the homeland. Various kinds of celebrations have been held from Germany to Canada.

It's the City Hall of Berlin. And it's a special night for China.

Craftsmen from China showed their exquisite techniques.

And a special performance was staged for an audience of four hundred local officials, businesspeople, and overseas Chinese.

Everyone enjoyed the show, which was co-organized by the Chinese Ministry of Culture, the Chinese Embassy in Germany, and the Berlin municipal government.

Dr. Richard Meng, Secretary of State, Berlin,said, "This kind of joint event is very good, because more communication is the only way to better understand each other."

German official Gunner Friedrich said, "Tonight's event is fantastic. We've seen the best performance and the whole atmosphere is joyful. We're very happy."

The festive atmosphere has also spread to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. In Canada, Spring Festival fever has been combined with a bit of Olympic flavor.

The Mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson invited the Chinese pairs figure skating gold medalists, Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, to a celebration event.

The couple joined two pairs of their teammates to give a command performance for local residents.