“Lions” fly over the Slovenian Alps to celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival – Xinhua
A skier performs a lion dance at the Krvavec ski resort in Slovenia to celebrate the Spring Festival, January 14, 2023. (Photo: Zeljko Stevanic/Xinhua)
LJUBLJANA, January 14 (Xinhua) — The sky was clear and the snow was boundless. A large black “lion” galloping on a snowboard and behind it a smaller red “lion” darted between the skiers all the way to the Slovenian Alps.
This was the scene that stunned the skiers at the Krvavec Alpine ski resort on Saturday, when the two skiing “lions” skilfully jumped from time to time and attracted many visitors.
When they took off their costumes, the onlookers around recognized that the two Chinese skiers were putting on a show. Skiers gathered around and asked if they could take pictures with them and share the joy of Chinese New Year.
“This activity is very new,” Chinese ambassador to Slovenia Wang Shunqing praised the performance of the “lion dance” team of the Slovenian Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which “combined Chinese traditional lion dance culture and Slovenian traditional skiing.”
Regarding cooperation between China and Slovenia in the field of winter sports, Wang said that Slovenians are good at winter sports, and cooperation between China and Slovenia has a long history, many teams, including the Chinese national team in ski jumping, trained in Slovenia.
“I hope the two countries will cooperate more in winter sports in the future,” Wang said.
To celebrate the upcoming Chinese Spring Festival and share the blessings of the Chinese New Year, the “Lion Dance” team also distributed lucky bags with cookies to children waiting for the ski conveyor belt.
“Lion dance is a traditional Chinese sport, but snow sports in Slovenia are at the world level,” Xian Jianhong, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Slovenia, who is one of the performers, told Xinhua, adding that as a Chinese living in Slovenia , always wanted to promote this traditional Chinese culture.
The Spring Festival or Chinese Lunar New Year is on January 22 this year. The event will last until the Lantern Festival, which will take place on February 5. ■
A child receives a good luck bag handed over by lion dance performers at the Krvavec ski resort in Slovenia, January 14, 2023. (Photo: Željko Stevanic/Xinhua)
Two lion dance performers pose for a photo at the Krvavec ski resort in Slovenia, January 14, 2023. (Photo: Zeljko Stevanic/Xinhua)
Two skiers perform a lion dance at the Krvavec ski resort in Slovenia to celebrate the Spring Festival, January 14, 2023. (Photo: Zeljko Stevanic/Xinhua)