by Julia Pierrepont III
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- On a sunny spring day at the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, swaying trees dipped their long, leafy branches in the tranquil, waterlily-filled water of the Liu Fang Yuan's reflecting pool, which is the largest Chinese garden outside China.
Some visitors promenaded over the elegant arched moon bridge, while others sat contentedly in picturesque Chinese imperial style pagodas and open-air buildings beside a tinkling waterfall as it cascaded down from above. But what is different this Sunday is that the gardens were filled with additional wonders, performances and treats as the Huntington hosted its 10th annual Lunar New Year celebration.
The Huntington's Lunar New Year celebration has always been a happy, hopeful affair, where families and friends reunite to enjoy the festivities together and exchange gifts and well-wishes for the Year of the Tiger.
Mr. Gonzalez, a Huntington member who lives near Palmdale, loves the exotic nature of the Chinese New Year. "I try to come every year. It just makes you happy."
"This is one of the biggest events that we do each year," Sian Leong Adams, Huntington's director of strategic initiatives and community engagement, told Xinhua.
"It's a moment to bring family and friends of all ages and all backgrounds together for the purpose of celebrating the New Year and learn a little bit about Chinese history, art, culture and all the other things we do here at the Chinese garden," she explained.
Joining the garden's usual wildlife this weekend was an entirely different sort of creature: massive lions that pranced and pounced amid the foliage. Made of colorful cloth with giant lion masks for heads, these lions were propelled by at least two dancers hidden inside each costume who made their huge lion puppets dance to enchant the onlookers.
There was a happy chorus of "Ooo's" and "Ahh's" from the audience -- especially from the kids -- when the feisty lion dancers took to the lush lawn just outside the entrance to the Chinese garden.
Kids also loved the Chinese mask-changer dancer, who changed his face faster than the eye can see, revealing a different colorful mask with each flick of his cape.
Louise, from Burbank, brought her two kids, David and Dianna, to the Huntington to enjoy the festivities. "I like the mask-changer and martial artists the best," David told Xinhua. "And I like the lion dancers!" said his sister Diana.
For the artistically inclined, the Year of the Tiger celebration at the Huntington also provides classes on traditional paper cutouts -- tigers of course -- and other holiday favorites.
Demonstrations of China's ancient and exquisite ink and brush calligraphy techniques were given by Huntington's resident artist, Tang Qingnian, and traditional Chinese music were performed as well. The Justin Vajna Memorial Fund provided funding for educational programs in the Chinese garden to share Chinese arts and crafts.
The Garden also hosted demonstrations of the delicate art of Chinese floral design. Besides, Visitors can also enjoy the Garden's magnificent penjing miniature tree collection, like Bonsai, that on display in their upper terrace area in the Chinese garden.
For Los Angeles local Colson Powell and his date, Sheveena Williams of Anaheim, it was just the respite they were looking for.
"After what we've all gone through the past couple of years, I remembered the gardens were here," he told Xinhua. "They are like an oasis in the middle of the city and I wanted her to experience it."
Ms. Williams was delighted with the experience, "I've never been here before, and I'm so glad I came. It's so beautiful, fun and refreshing, and I'm learning so much."
The Chinese cuisine is as popular as ever. The Huntington offers a wide variety of Chinese and Asian fare at its various eating venues on Sunday and a foot of food trucks parked on site.
Chinese spare ribs, Sichuan beef, chilled sesame-soy shrimp noodle salad, Dan Dan noodles, shrimp shumai, house-made almond cookies, pork belly steamed buns, spring rolls, pot-stickers, tea eggs, and more. Those are just a few of the tasty treats on offer to please any palate.
Anna from South Pasadena and her friend, Avery, an amateur photographer visiting from Las Vegas, also found the trip well worth it. "It's such a beautiful day and a great place to celebrate, and the food is delicious!" Anna told Xinhua.
Director Adams said that the Huntington was lucky to have over 400 thousands square meters, and it could open up to the public to provide plenty of space to celebrate on such a special occasion despite the pandemic.
"We love it when multi-generational families come here and do things like this together, to teach the younger generation and let them be part of these cultural experiences right here with us in Southern California," she said. ■
