Sydney’s Lunar New Year celebrations are considered the largest in the city

It’s one of Chinese folk musician Fuhua Li’s favorite spots at the festival, and this year it’s extra special: Li is finally reunited with his wife, who emigrated to Eastwood in Sydney with their son from Beijing in 2021.

Travel restrictions in China and Li’s ongoing work commitments — the Beijing University music professor performed at the city’s Winter Olympics — meant he couldn’t come to her two weeks ago.

“In our tradition, the reunion dinner on New Year’s Eve is indispensable,” Li said. “Family reunion is the happiest thing in every family.”

Li will play Chatswood’s Legends and Lanterns New Year’s Concert on February 4th. His instrument is the erhu, a Chinese two-string bowed instrument that he first encountered at the age of seven in his hometown of Shanghai.

He then became erhu concert master of the Central National Orchestra of China.

Li said the staging of the erhu with Western instruments like violin and cello – performed by internationally renowned Australian artists Li-Wei Qin and Harmonnia Junus – was innovative and “entirely new” to him.

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“Music knows no borders. I will take my music across thousands of rivers and mountains to the beautiful and vast continent of Australia, and present a celebration of Chinese music to the friendly people of Australia,” he said.

For Li’s wife Tian Jing, the reunion was long-awaited, although daily video calls helped the couple stay in touch while enjoying what she called the “comforts of life” in Sydney.

“He often plays me his new music in the video, and I’ll tell him how I feel after listening,” she said.
When asked if the split was difficult, she said it was worth seeing her husband being able to pursue his passion.

“During this time he created two erhu pieces that have become household names in China. I’m all the more proud. Very pleased.”