Year of the Dragon in Kenya: Chinese get a taste of home away from home at Lunar New Year gala in Nairobi

Event co-hosted by Kenya Overseas Chinese Association and the Kenya Chinese Women Association features range of Chinese culture and cuisine

Chinese envoy to Kenya and chief of UN Office at Nairobi among the guests as gala marks first Lunar New Year since inclusion on UN holidays list

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Kenyan and other performers take part in a traditional dragon dance at the Nairobi Chinese New Year Gala on Saturday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 12:02pm, 13 Feb 2024Updated: 3:23pm, 13 Feb 2024

Nairobi mall manager Lei Zhang could not make it back home to China for his annual Lunar New Year visit this time around.

But he and thousands of Chinese like him might have been a little less homesick at the weekend, thanks to a New Year’s Day gala co-hosted by the Kenya Overseas Chinese Association and the Kenya Chinese Women Association.

More than 3,000 performers, both Kenyan and Chinese, took part in Saturday’s event to ring in the Year of the Dragon – held at the mall just outside the Kenyan capital where Zhang works.

Attendees were treated to Chinese music, dragon dance and kung fu performances, as well as plays and cultural exhibitions, including a fashion show featuring the traditional qipao.

The hundreds of visitors also had the chance to try a range of traditional Chinese food.

Zhang came to Nairobi two years ago to work at the Two Rivers Mall, a shopping complex in the city’s diplomatic blue circle built as a joint venture between Kenya’s Centum Investment Co and Chinese firm Avic.