Kirins Energise Vancouver's Chinatown

Two kirins blessing a store in Chinatown

It's the 11th day of the Lunar New Year and in Chinatown a small group of young people got together to do some kirin dancing. 

Last week it was the traditional Chinatown parade with lots of lions with their big fuzzy faces, batting eyelids and big mouths, but today it was the kirin's turn, a smaller spirit animal with intense eyes that stared ahead and a horn on top of its head along with the yin and yang on its forehead.

The store owner poses with the Kirin Rising group

The group is called Kirin Rising and it's a totally amateur group that doesn't have a kung fu background, but its members are proud of their Hakka heritage.

They did a practice run at some stalls at Chinatown Plaza before heading out to some businesses in Chinatown. On the street the colourful kirins, one with a red head and the other green garnered a lot of attention.

Some passersby remarked they had never seen a kirin before and took pictures of videos. Others were so thrilled to see the pair that they even gave them lai see. 

For the performers themselves they put in a lot of energy moving the heads this way and that, jumping around and bowing three times to each business; despite it being hard work they were energised by the attention and their smiling faces revealed how much fun they were having.