Sydney has always had a large and active Chinese community, but in the past
few years that presence has taken a major leap forward.
There are about 4.6 million people in greater Sydney and half a million are
ethnic Chinese. That's one in nine.
Over the past 15 years, those local Chinese have turned the city's Spring
Festival celebrations into a major cultural event, which now attracts 40,000
ethnic Chinese from various parts of South East Asia, and plenty of locals from
all ethnic backgrounds as well.
There are now more Chinese tourists visiting Australia each year than people
from any other nation, with the exception of neighbor New Zealand.
One person who has seen this huge increase in the Chinese presence here is
journalism graduate Paolo Hooke.
Hooke works in Sydney as a public servant in the NSW Department of Premier
and Cabinet and once a month, as a volunteer, presents a radio show that
features classical Chinese music.
Hooke's personal interest in China reflects the growing interest in Chinese
things that is spreading across Australia. His curiosity was sparked during his
undergraduate days at Sydney University when visiting Chinese students opened
his eyes.
"I enjoy the evocative and exotic sounds of Chinese traditional instruments,
particularly the erhu, pipa, yangqin and suona. "I especially like the blending
of Chinese traditional instruments with Western instruments and the unique
sounds that this creates."
