The Festival is the last event in the celebration of Chinese New Year. It will be celebrated in the Canberra Beijing Garden, Yarralumla from 6 -8.30pm on Saturday 27 September. The area is decorated with Chinese lanterns, party and fairy lights. The celebration includes performances by the ANU Chinese Classical Music Ensemble, various ACT Chinese children and adult dance groups,  martial arts displays and a lion dance performance. In addition, there is a hand-made lantern competition. The evening ends with…

Canberra author Gregory Baines talks about his book, a novella set in modern China against the background of massive urban and cultural change, and the challenges of corruption - both domestic and foreign. Lindon, an Australian project manager with a failed marriage behind him, is lured to China with the promise of a lucrative alary. His task: to solve the problem of a ‘Nail House’, the home of a stubborn old man who refuses to relocate, even as the bulldozers…

Sunday 20 June 12 noon. Members and their guests only. A yum cha lunch at 12 noon at Yum Cha @ CBD, West Row, Canberra City Cost $30 per person.  Bookings at acfsevent@gmail.com by 16 June.

Talk by author Robert Macklin Our function for August will be a talk by Robert Macklin about his book Dragon and Kangaroo. The Dragon and the Kangaroo is the fascinating story of the Chinese presence in and influence on this country - our intertwined history from colonial times to today. Chinese 'presence' in Australia extends from well before the time of Captain Cook - trading with northern Australia long before Europeans came here - right through to the present day,…

Hidden treasures: The First Chinese − a Walk in Queanbeyan Sunday 19 September 2021 Tour information The tour will cover the fascinating story of one of this area’s earliest migrant populations, and visit some associated heritage sites. Access to skilled and reliable labour was a problem in early New South Wales, and particularly so after convict transportation ended in 1840.  A plan to contract Chinese mechanics and labourers was proposed as early as 1837.  Some of those from the Canberra area that backed the…

Professor Chey is one of Australia’s preeminent Sinologists. In a remarkable career, she moved seamlessly back and forth between academia, the public service, and the private sector. The title of her talk is “Both sides of the wall: stories from a lifetime’s engagement with China.” She will describe studying Chinese in 1950s Sydney and her subsequent career as a prominent academic and as a senior Australian diplomat (Cultural Counsellor in Beijing 1975-8; Senior Trade Commissioner in Beijing 1985-88; and Consul-General…