October 3, 2009

Lion and dragon dance wow visitors at KL Lantern Festival


Thousands of visitors including foreign tourists thronged the open space in front of Central Market in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday night 26th September 2009 to celebrate the inaugural KL Lantern Festival 2009 in the true spirit of 1 Malaysia where the festival was celebrated together by people of different races and faiths.

The spectacular stunts with spirited display of acrobatic skills, striking stunts and physical stamina performed by troupe members of the lion and dragon dance kept the crowd mesmerized amid loud cheers from the crowd of thousands.

The theme of the festival was “1 Malaysia”, in line with the aim of the festival to foster unity among all races. The 1 Malaysia concept is promoted by Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to inculcate the spirit of oneness from all the different races in multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual Malaysia.

The KL Lantern Festival 2009 was held to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival or Zhong Qui Jie in Mandarin which falls on October 3, 2009 and celebrated by the Chinese community on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month (October 3, 2009) to commemorate an uprising that established the Ming Dynasty. The Mid-Autumn Festival is also sometimes known as the "Lantern Festival" or “Mooncake Festival” in Malaysia.

The large-scale festival was organized by the Kuala Lumpur Tourism Action Council (KLTAC) with the cooperation of Kuala Lumpur City Hall and 100 Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and promoted as one of the country’s tourism products.

With lion and dragon dance, lantern procession, cultural performances, free distribution of mooncakes, fireworks display and attended by special guests the Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, the event was a success to foster community ties by living harmoniously and celebrating festivals together.

A noisy bursts of fireworks brighten up the night sky after the official launch of KL Lantern Festival 2009 by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Enjoy the photo gallery!




























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