Festivities for Lunar New Year add bounce to NBA match in Washington

An NBA game took on a festive atmosphere for the Lunar New Year, complete with Chinese music and dance and an address by China's ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador Qin Gang delivered remarks via video after the basketball game on Tuesday between the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers, wishing both teams and their fans a happy Chinese New Year. Washington and other NBA teams always celebrate the event.

Qin also expressed his best wishes to the Chinese and US teams in the Beijing Winter Olympics next month.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Chinese embassy and consulates in the US held an online awards ceremony for Olympic warmup events.

In a message played on the video screen at the Capital One Arena, Qin greeted the audience, congratulated the NBA on its 75th anniversary and called for its continued success.

He said both the Wizards and the Clippers were special to Chinese fans' hearts, as famous Chinese players had played for the two teams－Yi Jianlian for the Wizards and Wang Zhizhi for the Clippers.

Qin pointed out that the Wizards, formerly known as the Washington Bullets, were the first NBA team to visit China, in 1979, shortly after the establishment of China-US diplomatic relations.

"Clearly, something is bigger than basketball," Qin noted.

The arena was filled with a Chinese cultural atmosphere, and the game featured Chinese New Year elements. Before the game's opening tipoff, an artist played the US national anthem on the pipa, a traditional Chinese plucked-string instrument. The names of the Wizards' players were displayed in Chinese characters on the big screen. During a timeout, the arena's video screen broadcast New Year's greetings from Wizards players in English and Chinese.

During the halftime break, a local Chinese dance ensemble performed a lion dance. The audience was immersed in Chinese New Year blessings and an enjoyable "Chinese Cultural Night".

'A passionate hand'

At the online awards ceremony for Olympic warmup events, the ambassador said that Beijing would welcome in the Winter Games in a few days, an event with many highlights, full of "Chinese style" environmentally friendly practices and many futuristic technologies.

Qin emphasized that because the Olympics will be held during the coronavirus pandemic, strict preventive and control measures will be in place to give people peace of mind.

Qin said ice and snow sports are "holding a cold sword in a passionate hand", which he called a perfect blend of passion and reason.

"I hope that in the new year, China and the US will also hold the cold sword in a passionate hand, rationally manage differences, actively expand cooperation and boldly create a future, so that relations between the two countries can return to the normal track of healthy and stable development," Qin said.

Nearly 100 representatives from 56 overseas Chinese groups across the US attended the ceremony.