Year of the Tiger marks launch of St Helen’s Road Redevelopment in Swansea

To help celebrate this year’s Chinese Spring Festival a special Chinese New Year Lion Dance will process along Swansea’s St Helen’s Road. 

Sponsored by UWTSD’s Confucius Institute, the Chinese New Year Lion Dance will make its way by midday to the Swan Gardens Chinese community retirement housing, bringing blessings for a new and prosperous 2022.

The Spring Festival celebration on 1 February coincides with the launch of the St Helen’s Road green development plan by artist-led company and social enterprise: Ways of Working. The organisation works in collaboration with businesses and other local bodies to bring community voices to Swansea’s regeneration. The Lion Dance provides a vibrant symbol of renewal for the whole street, bringing hope of a much brighter future after two years of the pandemic.

The event is particularly important for the residents of Swan Gardens, many of whom have suffered a great deal from loneliness during the prolonged periods of national lockdown.  Swan Gardens Manager, Fun Wong commented:

"We are so pleased that we can have the Lion Dance to mark the Chinese Spring Festival. The last few years have been difficult for the residents, and they have missed having the normal new year celebrations. We’re grateful to the Confucius Institute for sponsoring the dance group so that they can bring a ray of spring happiness to all of St Helen’s Road."

Confucius Institute teacher Tang Yuqi will be on hand at St Helens Road to explain to members of public the significance of the Lion Dance and why the Spring Festival is so important to Chinese people. Tang Yuqi, or Morwenna as she is known by her Welsh name believes passionately about the importance of cultural exchange between Welsh and Chinese traditions and heritage. She has been learning Welsh over the past 2 years so that she can introduce elements of Welsh and Chinese language and culture in her teaching, and she is now a proficient speaker of the language.

For more information about the event please contact Krystyna Krajewska at UWTSD, Confucius Institute k.krajewska@uwtsd.ac.uk

Further Information

For more information please contact Arwel Lloyd, Principal PR and Communications Officer, on 07384 467076 / arwel.lloyd@uwtsd.ac.uk