Shen Ming (left), cultural director of the Chinese Embassy to New Zealand, explains the meaning of his Spring Festival couplet at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Happy Chinese New Year celebration at the Pipitea Marae & Function Centre in Wellington, New Zealand, Jan 30, 2018. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

On Jan 30, the opening ceremony for the 2018 Chinese New Year festivities was held in Wellington, New Zealand.

Co-organized by the China Cultural Center in New Zealand and the Multicultural Council of Wellington, the event kicked off this year's Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in the country.

Qu Guangzhou, the charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy to New Zealand; Jenny Salesa, minister for Ethnic Communities in New Zealand; Guo Zongguang, director of the China Cultural Center in New Zealand and many other Chinese and New Zealand officials attended the event, along with over 300 locals with multiple ethnic backgrounds.