At Meridian Mall, a Chinese New Year celebration

MERIDIAN TWP. - Drums started pounding and the lion dance started in the middle of the Meridian Mall on Sunday afternoon.

Students from Chung's School Praying Mantis Kung Fu worked underneath the two giant heads — a lion and a dragon — swaying their imposing, decorative faces from side to side and up in the air. They marched in front of their partners, who were bent low, only their legs and feet visible, as they powered the back of each costume.

The Midland martial arts school has opened the Greater Lansing Area Chinese New Year Celebration since the event's start four years ago.

"On one hand, it's to say farewell to the old year, and, on the other hand, it welcomes the new year to come," said the school's owner, Henry Chung. "On a deeper level, it gets rid of the old, bad spirit and welcomes the new spirit."

On the eve of the Chinese holiday, which is Monday, the event drew a crowd of hundreds.

On the mall's center-court stage, organizers offered a fashion show, traditional dances and music. In 20 booths set up nearby, visitors could watch demonstrations of calligraphy, tea ceremonies and origami.

Julie Jiang, president of the association and chair of the event, said everyone was welcome — but she pointed out there's an estimated 5,000 Chinese students and scholars living in the Lansing area right now.

"We want to promote the diversity and multi-culture so we want everybody involved," she said. "We've got a lot of Chinese here, but we want to share that culture."

Representatives from Lansing Community College and Michigan State University were involved as well. The event is supported through sponsorship and costs an estimated $3,500 annually.

Yi Shi, a research specialist with MSU, is vice president of the Chinese association. He said Chinese students and professionals living in the area deserve the opportunity to celebrate their history and that the annual celebration helps others to understand their culture.

"Chinese culture is so rich, thousands of years old," Shi said. "Getting people together to work on this event has helped provide a mutual understanding."

Meridian Township has been extremely supportive of the celebration since its start, said LuAnn Maisner, the township’s parks and recreation director.

"It gets bigger every year," Maisner said. "Meridian Township is very diverse. It isn't only about celebrating the Chinese culture. It's about educating everyone in our community about the Chinese culture. There's really an interactive component to this event as well."

Julie Brixie, Meridian Township treasurer, said an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 people attend the celebration every year.

"It's about celebrating the culture that we have here, and it's also about welcoming new people into our community and letting them know that this important part of our cultural community exists, because a lot of people might not know that. We want to learn from each other."

Contact Rachel Greco at (517) 528-2075 or rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.