Celebrating Spring Festival: Lion Dance group promotes tolerance & diversity in Indonesia

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In Indonesia's capital, one group is celebrating Chinese New Year in a big way, by spreading the message of diversity and tolerance. The Kong Ha Hong lion dance group has been around for almost two decades, performing at international platforms as well. CGTN's Silkina Ahluwalia speaks to its founder who continues to spread cheer throughout the year.

The colors are bright and the sounds are familiar. As Jakarta enters this year's Chinese New Year period, spirits are high and no group is busier than the Kong Ha Hong lion dance group.

Founded on Indonesia's Independence day on the 17th of August in 1999, the internationally-acclaimed dance group was created by one of the descendants of Chinese martial artist and folk hero, Wong Fei-Hung.

For one of its early founders, Ronald, the tradition is rooted in his family's generations. He began performing lion dances since he was just 10 years old.

RONALD SJARIF FOUNDER, KONG HA HONG DANCE GROUP "We are very happy because now lion dance is categorized as a sport in Indonesia. We are working towards including lion dance as an Olympic sports. If we can succeed in competing in the Olympics, it means we have reached the global stage. That is what we are hoping for."

The group is made up of more than 60 members aged between 8 years old all the way to 38 years old. They have gone on to win several world-renowned awards including the MGM Lion Dance Championship that was held in Beijing in 2015.

SILKINA AHLUWALIA JAKARTA, INDONESIA "The group has been performing for 18 years and they really are a celebration of diversity. The members are made up of people from all walks of life and different cultural backgrounds from Chinese Indonesians to indigenous Indonesians."

Lion dance has a long history in Indonesia. Although it was forbidden before the year 1999 under President Soeharto's rule, Ronald's family successfully re-established the celebration and opened the door to a whole new generation of lion dance lovers. Andri was one of the first members who joined the team in 1999.

ANDRI, MEMBER KONG HA HONG DANCE GROUP "I hope as a lion dance group we can continue to represent Indonesia on the international scene. We want to show that lion dance is a tradition that has been adopted by many cultures of the world nowadays, not just in China. We see countries like Spain and France forming lion dance groups to celebrate Chinese culture, too."

The Kong Ha Hong group truly represents Indonesia's motto of living in harmony. Now, its founders are hoping that the tradition can be preserved for future generations as a means of maintaining national unity. Silkina Ahluwalia, CGTN, Jakarta.