On Feb 1, a news conference was held at the National Museum of New Zealand to celebrate the "Chinese New Year in Wellington – the Year of the Ox". It was organized by the Wellington City Council and the Asian Events Trust and co-organized by the China Cultural Center in Wellington. The event also marks the 15th anniversary of Wellington and Beijing becoming sister cities.

About 100 guests attended the event, including Andy Foster, mayor of Wellington, Guo Zongguang, director of China Cultural Center in Wellington, Linda Lim, director of Asia Project Foundation.

In the evening, artists from New Zealand and China presented wonderful performances, including Maori haka dance, Chinese lion dance, Chinese national orchestral ensemble, Chinese traditional dance and New Zealand duet, through live performances and videos.

Wellington hip-hop dance group The Company NZ put on a refreshing "hip-hop lion dance show" by combining Chinese lion dance with hip-hop dance, replacing traditional drums with electronic dance music.