Chinese New Year Celebration in Princeton Brings Culture and Festivities to Marketfair

Karina Yuan - G11 - Princeton NJ 

On Saturday, January 25th, 2025, the WULA Academy, in partnership with the World Wise Learning Academy non-profit organization and sponsored by Wanglei International Fencing Club, Cavegolf, and All Blue Chinese Cuisine , Szechun Hose Cuisine, M Tea, together with Huaxia Chinese school at Plainsboro and various local community members,  hosted a vibrant Chinese New Year celebration at Marketfair in Princeton, New Jersey to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Snake. The event, which ran from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm, featured a diverse array of performances, food, giveaways, and interactive activities for all ages.

Both the West Windsor Mayor, Hemant Marathe, and the Plainsboro Deputy Mayor, David Bander, attended the ceremony. During their speech, both of them wished everyone a Happy Lunar New Year and expressed their support and appreciation of the Chinese community in the area. Deputy Mayor Bander later talked about his son’s attendance in the Plainsboro Chinese Immersion program, praising the program for its efficiency in teaching students Chinese. Mayor Marathe also mentioned Mandarin as a second language option for middle school students in the West Windsor school district. Both mayors were appreciative of the effort the WULA Academy and other organizations put in to create such a vibrant event to share Chinese culture with the community.

The celebration kicked off with a traditional dragon dance by the children from all the location areas,  setting the tone for the afternoon’s festivities. Following the dance, the New Jersey Peking Opera Society took the stage with a percussion performance using traditional chinese instruments, featuring Wen Yuanqi on the drums, Yang Xin on the large gong, Tan Xi on the cymbals, and Wang Fengxiang on the small gong.

Next, the Lingling Dance Studio presented an electric dance performance to the Chinese pop song "Theme Song of Love" by Elva Hsiao and Zhang Yingchao sang "Blowin' in the Wind" and the classic "The Moon Represents My Heart," accompanied by harmonica and guitar, both of which he played himself.

The New Jersey Peking Opera Society then presented two more performances: Wang Fengxiang's performance of "Teachings from Kang Shi," an Erhuang aria from the traditional Chinese opera “The Golden Turtle,” and a laosheng duet of "Once There Were Three Heroes" from the classic opera “Zhuliangzhai,” performed by Zhao Xin and Yang Xin with jinghu accompaniment by Jin Kuiming.

Next was a dance performance in the Northeastern Yangge style by the Lanyun Dance Troupe, followed by a series of performances from the Xiangyin Choir. These included a tenor solo of "The Place Where the Peach Flowers Blossom" by Li WeiQiang, a soprano solo of "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" by Wu Xiaoqing, and a women's vocal medley featuring “A White Lark Flies to the Barracks,” “I Love You, China,” and more.

Among the highlights of the celebration was a trio performance featuring Nadya Zhilaev, an award-winning Romani dancer, performing Bella Dance-Romani Gypsy, followed by a series of vocal and guitar performances by Wang Lei and his students—Sarah performed “Moon” and  Julian performed “Yellow.” Then, Nolan Sorensen performed his heartfelt song, “Tomorrow"

Zhao Donghui captivated audiences with the dance solo titled “Galloping,” then Milly Wang sang “Where There's Love” by Tong Xinzhu.

The penultimate performance featured Audrey Zhang and Brinely Liu performing a lively piano duet of “Congratulations, Congratulations,” a popular holiday song often sung by children’s choirs to celebrate the new year.

The celebration concluded with an ensemble performance by the Zizhu Chinese Music Ensemble, performing “Crazy Dance of the Golden Snake” and “Jubilant” on a variety of traditional Chinese instruments including the guzheng and the hulusi, ending the event with a delightful display of Chinese folk music.