THE Chinese New Year was celebrated in Woking town centre last Saturday with vibrant dance displays, parades and a range of stalls.

“The day went really well,” said June Weng, secretary of the Chinese Association of Woking. “More of an audience than the last one before COVID and we raised £180.40 from the generous public. 

“We started with a parade around the town centre following the performance team and two giant rabbits, celebrating the Year of the Rabbit. 

“The Mayor, Cllr Saj Hussain, and Woking MP Jonathan Lord fed the lions with lettuce after wonderful lion dancing.

“The word for lettuce in Chinese sounds very like the word for wealth, so the lion eats the lettuce and spits it back to the owner or the audience to shower them with prosperity!

“Mr Lord and Cllr Hussain gave a speech, and both said Happy Chinese New Year in Mandarin.

“We did two performances, and in between we had free paper-cutting session in Woking library. And we had stalls set up in Mercia Walk selling arts and crafts and a variety of food.”

For more pictures of the event, see the two-page spread in the 9 February edition of the News & Mail, in shops now.