"Happy Chinese New Year" activities launched in Malta

VALLETTA, Jan. 27 (Xinhua) -- A series of "Happy Chinese New Year" activities were launched in Malta to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, which falls on Feb. 1 this year.

These activities were also staged to celebrate the Beijing Winter Olympics and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Malta.

The China Cultural Center in Malta kicked off on Thursday an online Chinese Zodiac cultural and creative exhibition. It will also hold the third Chinese film festival, the Chinese characters exhibition, and the "Imagine China" children's painting competition and exhibition.

The center will hold an online Spring Festival gala on Feb. 6 together with the Confucius Institute at the University of Malta, the Mediterranean Traditional Chinese Medicine Center, and the Chinese Medicine Center at the University of Malta.

During the Spring Festival, the cultural center will also cooperate with the Chinese Medical Team there to launch online Chinese medicine lectures for Maltese people, according to Yang Xiaolong, director of the China Cultural Center.