Dancing lions invaded Oxford as part of the city’s Chinese New Year celebrations.

More than 1,000 people welcomed in the Year of the Ox outside the Town Hall in St Aldate’s yesterday.

The colourful event was the 18th Chinese New Year celebration organised by the Oxfordshire Chinese Community and Advice Centre (Occac).

Festivities began with a dazzling display of costumed dancing, before a sumptuous banquet of traditional Chinese cuisine.

Co-organiser Stephen Yeung said: “Chinese New Year is the most important traditional festival of the Chinese calendar.

“The event was a great opportunity for people from the Chinese community to celebrate the New Year, enjoy the dances and performances and eat lots of different Chinese dishes.”

According to tradition, those born in the Year of the Ox are patient, meticulous, exceptionally hard-working and good time keepers.

The main colour of the celebration was red, as this is seen as a lucky colour which symbolises virtue and wealth.

Oxford has the second highest proportion of ethnic Chinese in England outside London. Of the 6,900 Chinese people living in Oxfordshire, 4,300 of them are in Oxford.

On Thursday, there will be a Chinese Spring Festival Gala at the Sheldonian Theatre in Broad Street.

Danny To, 50, from Kennington, who was one of the lion dancers, said: “It’s great fun performing this dance and it’s a very colourful part of the New Year tradition.”

Fellow dancer George Wong added: “The highlight of the dance is ‘picking the green’.

“The green is a bunch of lettuce leaves tied up with a red packet of lucky money, and it is traditionally hung above the doorway of a house or shop.

“The head dancer sometimes stands on the shoulder of the second to reach out for the bunch and swallows it with the lions jaws.”

Occac was formed in 1991 to help non-English speaking and vulnerable Chinese in the county. It has assisted more than 4,000 families through its bilingual advice service.

Stephen Chu, vice-chairman of Occac, said: “The celebration is often attended by the whole family, to mark time-honoured Chinese traditions and to reinforce a sense of cultural heritage and identity.”

Other attractions at the event included folk dances, a childrens’ choir and acrobatics featuring rope skipping, juggling and pyramid gymnastics.

Anna Wai, 25, from Witney, said: “I grew up in Oxfordshire so I love coming here every year because it reminds me of all the Chinese traditions.“It’s a great opportunity for us to celebrate our festivals and culture — it’s all too easy to lose sight of the Chinese traditions.”

andrew.ffrench@oxfordmail.co.uk