A happy library visitor with her calligraphy and a bag of information about studying Mandarin to take home

On Saturday, January 11, 2025, the Los Angeles Public Library hosted a celebration for the Lunar New Year that attracted a wide variety of people. Personnel from the Education Division of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Los Angeles and language teachers from National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) who teach at UCLA as part of its Taiwan Huayu BEST Program took part in giving the American public an opportunity to experience some traditional Chinese culture.

The Taiwan Huayu BEST Program teachers put up traditional Lunar New Year decorations and introduced visitors to the game of mahjong (麻將), the highly popular, classic Chinese game known for its use of strategy and providing social enjoyment. The Education Division set up a calligraphy booth where people could try their hand at writing basic calligraphy strokes and Chinese characters to give them a personal introduction to this classical Chinese art form.

The Education Division also offered information material about Taiwan’s Mandarin language education programs and talked to people about a variety of opportunities to learn Mandarin and/or study in Taiwan. These include the Huayu Enrichment Scholarships for learning Mandarin there, the Mandarin Teachers and Teaching Assistants Program, the Foreign Student Short-term Chinese Study Group, and free online language- learning resources. It was a cheerful celebration of the approaching Lunar New Year.