On Saturday Nov. 12, Geneseo Chinese Culture Club welcomed a large crowd to its 17th annual China Night in the Union Ballroom.
The night's theme revolved around the classical piece of Chinese Literature Xi You Ji, translated as Journey to the West, written by Wu Chen En. This literary work, dating back to the Ming Dynasty in the 1590s, is a fictionalized account of a monk's journey to bring Buddhist scriptures from India to China.
After days of hard work and preparation, members of the club performed their own rendition of the famous tale. The performance included a fashion show modeling traditional Tibetan and Chinese garb. The second act was a traditional folk Umbrella Dance. Dancers of the club also performed a more modern dance accompanied by pop music. Lastly, the club played a contemporary rock song from one of Taiwan's most popular movies Cape No. 7.
According to Senior Adam Tran, co-president of GCCC, China Night "is [their] biggest event of the year." Because the event receives widespread attention from the Geneseo community, Tran explained, "We are able to put the money we earn into the events themselves."
Sophomore Joe Gallo came to support a friend in the club and to indulge in some delicious ethnic food. "The vegetable lo mein was my favorite part of the meal," Gallo said.
CAS provided a three-course meal consisting of appetizers such as deep fried noodles and shrimp chips, and main courses such as General Tso's chicken, stir-fried cabbage with Szechuan peppers and hot and sour soup. Dessert was almond Jell-O with fruit cocktail and fortune cookies.
China Night allows GCCC to "showcase what [its] club has to offer and the eclectic variety of talents [they] have," said co-president senior Nicole Tsien.
In hopes of spreading cultural awareness, GCCC will host a Dumpling Festival in the spring semester, a Mooncake Festival, which enlightens people of the Chinese celebration of the Lunar New Year, and a Chinese New Year banquet.