UCI Chinese Students Hosts 2024 Spring Festival Gala on campus

by admin · Published February 2, 2024 · Updated February 4, 2024

Irvine, CA (February 2, 2024) – UC Irvine Chinese students celebrated Lunar New Year on February 2nd evening on campus with the annual Spring Festival Gala, hosted by the UCI Chinese Student and Scholar Association (CSSA) & SW-CSSA. The event featured with stand-up comedy, popular bands and rappers, as well as Peking Opera, modern dance and traditional Chinese music instruments playing. Guo Jin and Liu Shuyu, education consuls of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles, and Farrah N. Khan, mayor of Irvine where the campus is located, were invited to watch the party with the international students.

Joe Wong, stand-up comedy

Tianai Guo, Peking Opera

The Spring Festival Gala has grown over the years, incorporating more performances and drawing more people. This year the event was held in Barclay Theatre and about 900 people attended. CSSA-UCI invited Chinese student’s associations’ leaders from all over the southern California area to join in the celebration.

Straight Fire Gang

The only invited music group Straight Fire Gang is one of the most excited part in the Gala.

As guests entered the theater, they received a raffle ticket, a red pocket with local business coupons.

Dingtian (Tyler) Peng (Left 2) & Sky Qian (SW-CSSA, Left 1) with students from UCSD

According to CSSA-UCI president Dingtian (Tyler) Peng said: We are international students here. Our parents are in China, and we basically study abroad here alone. It’s a good time to gather people together, hope the gala bring the joy and family feel to all the students at UCI. “The Spring Festival Gala is a show to recall our memory for our country,” Peng said. “We are very thankful for all Chinese students who prepare for this show. Everyone is great in this show, actors, actresses, even the audience. I think it’s great.”

Senior student Zhongnan Zhu said, haven’t been with family for spring festival for years till now, the spring gala really bring us not the entertainment but the homesick relief, celebrating Chinese New Year this way gives the feeling of being back at home.

A local student told us: The combine cultures at the Gala by dancing to rap and traditional Chinse free styles helped to bridge the cultural gap and give American students the opportunity to learn about real Chinese culture.

Chinese Students and Scholars Association at UCI (CSSA-UCI) was founded 31 years ago. Not only the largest international students body on the campus but one of the largest Chinese community on Orange County with more than 12,000 members now. (By: Richard Ren)