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Happy New Year 2011

Large crowds including local residents and tourists gathered in the heart of Chinatown in Yangon, watching the special eye-dotting performance of dragon dance on Saturday night.

In the air full of joy, local Chinese residents involving young amateurs took part in the Chinese dragon dance, highlighting the celebration of the dragon year.

The splendid fireworks lit up the whole street as a welcoming sign for the dragon dance performance teams.

With large traditional drums beating and colorful festive flags flying on a grand scale, the procession by the 4 amateur dragon dancing groups -- Kamayut Jiande, Nanfugong, South Okkalarpa Jiande youth-group and Xia Tamwe Jiande along the street attracted a lot of watchers.

The Nanfugong group comes from Pathein township in Ayeyawady Region while the rest from Yangon.

Most of the onlookers applauded the wonderful and breathtaking dragon dance performance which was more impressive than the previous year's.

The dragon dance teams not only showed their performance around downtown Yangon in the day time. The young amateurs with their puppet dragon entered and wished for the shops that opened along roadsides and houses one after another, bestowing significant success and happiness for these places.

During the Chinese New Year, other dragon dance groups also launched performances at some designated Chinese temples, international schools and famous parks respectively.

"It is the most cheerful celebration that I have ever watched and I was very surprised to watch this performance," an onlooker said.

U Kyaw Kyaw, president of the central committee for holding the celebration, told Xinhua that dragon brings great good luck to everyone. He also wished the people from Myanmar a good health, a successful career and happiness in the dragon year.

"We have to practice for 2 or 3 months ahead of the dragon dance performance," said Maung Tun, secretary of the Xia Tamwe Jiande group, "We are invited by the Myanmar-Chinese community to dance at their residents."

You Ziming, who is president of the Xia Tamwe Jiande Temple, said that celebration of traditional dragon dance is aimed for preserving the Chinese tradition and customs as well as strengthening "Paukphaw" (fraternal) friendship between China and Myanmar.

A girl, who is in Chinatown, told Xinhua that she was very impressed by the dragon dance show and could feel the merry atmosphere of the Chinese new year.