SOUTH African and Chinese children gathered to play in an exchange of culture in the sunshine of the Kirstenbosch Gardens to ring in the Year of the Dog.

A total of 150 children were invited to take part in the Spring Festival Garden Event held at Kirstenbosch yesterday where they took part in games, performed song and dance and embraced the diversity of South African and Chinese culture.

 

The Chinese Consul-General Kang Yong and children from the Chinese international school as well as

          Baphumulele orphanage celebrate the Chinese spring festival where they embraced each other's cultures at

Kirstenbosch. In the background in the yellow T-shirt is Chen Qing, chairperson of Soong Ching Ling.

 

The Chinese New Year was heralded in on Friday.

The event is organised every year by the South Africa Soong Ching Ling Foundation with Chinese children who attend international schools invited to attend as well as 40 children from the Baphumelele Children's Home in Khayelitsha and 10 children from Heatherdale Children's Home in Athlone.

Foundation chairperson Chen Qing spoke of the importance of building good relationships between the two nations' children.

"These children are the future of our countries. This is a great opportunity for these children from different cultural backgrounds to interact with each other," she said.

Baphumelele founder Rosalia Mashale said the foundation had always supported the home and had partnered with them on projects in the past. "We are thankful for them," she said.