‘This is a wonderful place’
Dancers from Wuhan, China, demonstrate Bian Lian, in which performers wear vividly colored masks that they can change almost instantaneously.
Pier Lee, Bethel Park resident and director emerita of Peters Township Public Library, serves as one of the event's featured speakers.
Attending the event are South Hills residents Pier Lee, left, of Bethel Park and Susan Chang of Upper St. Clair, president of the Chinese Association for Science and Technology – Pittsburgh Chapter board of directors.
Dancers with the Pittsburgh Xiaobo's Wast Drum Dance Group perform.
Dancers perform with the Firefly Chorus vocal group.
Members of the Firefly Chorus vocal group perform.
Xiaorui Lu sings "On the Field of Hope," joined by Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Center Art Group dancers.
Peking opera master Xiaoling Tong performs “Ode to Pear Flowers.”
Members of the Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Center Art Group perform “On the Field of Hope.”
The Lion Dance helps ring in Chinese New Year.
Students of the Pittsburgh Chinese School in Squirrel Hill perform “Eternal Love – Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms” during the 2020 Greater Pittsburgh Chinese New Year Gala.
A dancer from Wuhan, China, demonstrates Bian Lian, in which performers wear vividly colored masks that they can change almost instantaneously.
Talk about a proud resident.
“I’ve lived in Bethel Park for 45 years,” Pier Lee announced. “I’m so glad. This is a wonderful place.”
The director emerita of Peters Township Public Library, where she worked for four decades, served as one of the featured speakers for the 2020 Greater Pittsburgh Chinese New Year Gala, held in January to celebrate the start of the Year of the Rat.
Featuring nearly two dozen musical, dance and dramatic performances, the event drew nearly a capacity crowd to North Allegheny High School on an iffy winter night. Lee and her husband, Bill, were among a healthy contingent traveling from the South Hills.
She spoke about arriving to the United States from China in 1962, earning her master’s degree in library science, working at libraries in New York City and Virginia Tech, and serving as library director in Peters Township through her retirement in 2015.
“I enjoyed every minute of my work because it’s doing community work,” she said. “I consider public library service is to serve everyone in the community.”
Joining her in providing opening remarks was Rich Fitzgerald, Allegheny County executive, who has been attending the event each year and noted how people of all ages are represented.
Lee wasn’t shy in acknowledging her particular demographic.
“I think I qualify for my age to represent another generation. I’m about 80 years old. Eight-zero,” she announced, drawing plenty of applause.
“And I can tell you that I look all right. I can still do a lot of things. I’m still looking forward to projects,” Lee said, and she hopes she can encourage “a lot of people around my age to say, ‘Yeah, if she can do it, I can do it.'”
The event is organized each year by the Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Center, a nonprofit organization that promotes the awareness of Chinese culture and appreciation of cultural diversity. It also facilitates the assimilation of Chinese immigrants into the region.
Hosting is the Chinese Association for Science and Technology – Pittsburgh Chapter, for which Upper St. Clair resident Susan Chang serves as president of the board of directors.
For the past three years, the city of Wuhan, China, has sent delegations of artists and government officials to participate in the gala. Performers from China this year included Xue Li, Qijin Zou and Chengdu demonstrating the art of Bian Lian, or face-changing; Chagmin Ye, an award-winning Sichuan opera dancer; Xiaoling Tong, the latest in a family line of Peking opera masters; and Ling Yang, a Kunqu opera artist.
A variety of performers from all over the Pittsburgh area also joined in the celebration, as did others offering opening remarks. Among them was Wen Xie, head of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, who offered words of wisdom from early Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu.
“The original was in Chinese, so I tried my best to translate it to English. I thought what he had to say was very fitting for today’s event,” Wen said, quoting: “We are citizens of the world. As such, in addition to loving our own country, we need to strive to make the world a better place for everyone.”
And so the message is to share your values for the benefit of all:
“That’s why we’re celebrating here today for the Chinese culture, regardless if you are Chinese or not Chinese.”