Shane and Jacqui Gower, both of them teachers from New Zealand, thought it was great fun to celebrate the Lantern Festival with their Chinese friends Edmund and Brenda Zeng at the gala party in the China Folk Culture Villages theme park Tuesday.

The two couples became close friends when Shane and Jacqui took part in last year's Chinese New Year homestay program with Edmund and Brenda as their host family.

"I've heard of the Chinese Lantern Festival before, but this is the first time for me to celebrate the traditional Chinese festival," said Shane Gower after watching colorful performances and attending a series of activities, which lasted two hours at the theme park.

During the two hours, the New Zealand couple with their daughter Olivia performed the yangge dance (a traditional Chinese folk dance), visited the temple fair, practiced paper cutting, guessed lantern riddles, tasted rice dumplings and played games with the Chinese couple and their daughter Cindy.

"We greatly recommend to any foreigner living in China to be involved in programs like this as it has given us lifelong friends in a country that we are pleased to call our second home," said Shane, who is teaching at the Shekou International School.

Karen Hall, director of the QSI International School of Shekou, and her husband Tim and their son Jeremy showed great interest in lion dances and chicken dances, which were part of the opening ceremony at the evening party.

"I've never seen lion dances and chicken dances before, and I wonder how they dressed in costumes like lions and chickens and also made the animals so lively," Karen Hall said.

After the opening ceremony, Maria Cullantes, an English teacher working at the Shiyan Public School in Bao'an District, toured around several villages at the theme park, where a series of activities and games were arranged for party participants.

"The part I enjoyed the most was guessing lantern riddles in both Chinese and English, and eating the sticky, delicious and sweet rice dumplings with my two Filipino friends together," Cullantes said.

While visiting the temple fair, Frederic Mampouma, a senior engineer from Montreal, Canada, was particularly impressed by painting skills several artists from the Dafen Oil Painters' Village in Longgang District demonstrated while painting a male model on the spot.

"Today, I have had a brand-new experience celebrating the traditional Lantern Festival with my Chinese friends," said Mampouma. "And it was wonderful."

Editor: Catherine