Beverly Hills welcomes Chinese

Julie Wagner (left), CEO of Beverly Hills Conference and Visitor Bureau, and Che Zhaohe (right), culture consul of China's Consulate General in Los Angeles post for a photo at the press conference to announce a month-long Chinese New Year Celebration program on Thurday morning in Beverly Hills. CINDY LIU / CHINA DAILY

Chinese New Year is coming to Tinseltown, again. But this time in an even bigger way.

The Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau (BHCVB) announced Thursday that the city is going to stage a month-long celebration of Chinese New Year starting Feb 1.

It will be fourth annual Chinese New Year celebration in Beverly Hills. This year, through a partnership with China International Culture Association, Beverly Hills will feature internationally acclaimed entertainment from Beijing in a special one-night event on Feb 1 at Saban Theatre, which will serve as a kick-off of Happy Chinese New Year — Beijing Culture Month.

The program will feature notable acts from the Beijing Performance & Arts Group, including acrobats from the China National Acrobatic Troupe, a Peking Opera piece performed by renowned artist Chen Junhua and a performance by the award-winning dancer Zhu.

Musical acts will include a pipa solo by Zhou Hui, an erhu performance by Song Fei, known as China's "Queen of the Erhu", and a performance by China's violin master Lu Siqing, among others.

Che Zhaohe, culture consul of China's Consulate General in Los Angeles, announced that a photography exhibition entitled Charming Beijing, Passionate Winter Olympics will be on display at the same time at the Saban Theatre, featuring 60 images captured in Beijing by world-renowned photographers, including American photographer Joe McNally.

Che also said that China's intangible cultural heritage will be represented by Tu'er Ye figures, Zhang clay sculptures, Yu family kites, cloth paste paintings and ancient Chinese toys such as the Mao Hou, a tiny monkey shaped toy made with plants and cicada shells since the Qing Dynasty, and Diabolo, a Chinese juggling prop.

"It is an honor to have such remarkable talent travel all the way from Beijing to share their inspiring performances and art as we celebrate Chinese New Year 2015 and the Year of the Sheep," said Julie Wagner, CEO of BHCVB.

As the new visa policy applies, Wagner expects to host more tourists from China during this Chinese New Year holiday. She said participating hotels in Beverly Hills will offer special packages to Chinese guests throughout the month of February. The packages will welcome guests with popular Chinese amenities such as in-room hot water kettles with Chinese tea, Chinese newspapers, slippers and Chinese breakfasts.

In addition, most Beverly Hills hotels and stores will have Mandarin-speaking staff on-site and the visitors' center will provide walking maps and directories in Chinese. The city's website has a Chinese version and most stores accept Union Pay.

"We want Chinese tourists and local Chinese residents to feel at home during this family-oriented and most important holiday of the year," said Wagner. "This is just one of the ways to show our appreciation to the Chinese people who bring business to Beverly Hills. We also want to take this opportunity to enhance our friendship with China as always. "

"The new visa policy will help to promote cultural exchange between China and US cities like Beverly Hills too. Chinese artists will come often to bring American audiences the charm of Chinese culture," she said.

cindyliu@chinadailyusa.com