Year of the Dragon: Peterborough Chinese Community celebrate New Year - and special award from The King

There have been special celebrations for the Chinese Community in Peterborough as they mark the start of the Year of the Dragon – and also were presented with a special award from The King.

The community group, made up of scores of volunteers, have made a huge difference to residents in Peterborough over the years, and on Thursday they were presented with The King’s Award for Voluntary Service – a prestigious award which has been described as ‘the MBE for voluntary groups.’

The presentation was made by Lord Lieutenant Julie Spence at Peterborough Cathedral, with many of the volunteers present.

Accepting the award, Faustina Yang, the leader of the group which is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary, said it was a special moment. She paid tribute to her mum, and her husband, and said : “I didn’t want my daughter to grow up knowing nothing about Chinese language or Chinese culture, so I started some small gatherings – which turned out not so small, we had 55 people who turned out at our first gathering.”

She spoke about the difficulties the Chinese community had suffered in recent years. She said: “Everyone knows about the soaring hate crime during the pandemic that Chinese people suffered. We don’t want your sympathy, we want your understanding. We want your respect, we want the awareness that we are all the same.

"We are making big difference in communities, making a positive difference.”

Faustina also praised the work of the volunteers in the group – as well as volunteers in other groups across the city.

Later that evening, the group celebrated Chinese New Year at the Cathedral.

This year is the Year of the Dragon, and invited guests were treated to colourful Lion Dance performances, as well as a Tai Chi demonstration.