China Festival 2013 - Day 1

See and hear Australia's most popular chef cooking up a storm at the China festival! For the first time in Newcastle Poh from Poh's Kitchen and MasterChef will be cooking live and telling us all about her favourite Chinese dishes. Yum!

Crashing cymbals and beating drums mark the beginning of a traditional Chinese Lion Dance! The brightly colored lion bows and dances chase away the evil spirits, bring good luck and welcome everybody to the China Festival.

The high-energy Extreme Martial Arts performances by Dong Tam Youth Association are simply amazing! Incorporating martial arts, high-flying acrobatics and gymnastics, their performances must be seen to be believed!

Nĭ Hăo! Learn to speak Chinese in just 15 minutes! The teachers from the Confucius Institute will teach you some simple, useful everyday Chinese expressions. Great for the whole family.

What is your Chinese horoscope? Try the beautiful art of calligraphy and write your own Chinese horoscope. At the end of the workshop take home your own Chinese work of art.

Experience the 'moving meditation' of Tai Chi. Learn a simple Tai Chi routine that you can practise every day. It can reduce stress, improve fitness, and enhance your overall well-being. Perfect for young and old!

Confucius, or 孔子(kǒngzǐ), is China's most famous teacher and philosopher. His ideas, known as Confucianism, are the cornerstone of traditional Chinese culture. Don't miss this informative talk by a descendant of Confucius.

Try your hand at the traditional Chinese art of paper cutting. The workshop will teach you the basic paper cutting skills. Use your imagination to create your own masterpiece!

Immerse yourself in the beauty of Chinese music and dance! Watch the beautiful Water Lily Dance, Dai Ethnic Group Dance, and the Xinjiang Dance, and listen to the captivating sounds of one of the oldest and most unique Chinese instruments – 古筝(gǔzhēng).

Have your face painted like a Beijing Opera star! Your will fall in love with the vibrant colors of Beijing Opera masks.

Dumplings or 饺子 (jiǎozi) look like the golden ingots or 金元宝 (jīnyuánbǎo) used as money during the Ming Dynasty, so serving dumplings is believed to bring prosperity. Learn the art of perfecting a flawless dumpling in this hands-on workshop.

Treat yourself with some authentic Chinese food - delicious pan-fried dumplings, colourful fried rice and noodles, mini pork buns, and many more.

How good are you using chopsticks? Can you pick up M&Ms? Enter our chopstick competition to find out and maybe win some tasty prizes! Great fun for the kids!

Join us for the exciting Ping Pong games! It will be fun!

Auspicious Chinese knots, beautiful paper cutting, Beijing Opera bookmarks, and cute panda bears are among the prizes and giveaways you will be able to win on the day. So come along and be the lucky ones!

Meet our Giant Panda and the Chinese Fortune God! They would love to take photos with you!