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housands of Jakartans witnessed a mix of cultural performances as part of celebrations to mark the start of 2561 in the Chinese lunar calendar at National Monument Park on Sunday.

Adopting the theme “Harmony in Diversity”, the residents were treated to a plethora of entertainment on the national public holiday.

Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo and head of the Indonesian Record Museum Jaya Suprana attended the event.

Antara reported that visitors flocked to watch Chinese cultural parades — barongsai (lion dance) and liong (dragon dance) — and the martial art displays of wushu.

A taste of local Betawi culture also flavoured the event, such as the ondel-ondel (Betawinese giant puppet) parade and musicians playing the traditional musical instrument gambang kromong.

Keeping with the theme, the event also featured traditional dances from Bali and Papua.

One of the visitors, Teti, said she and her family would go to the top of the National Monument after they had finished enjoying all the performances at the event.

A blend of Javanese and Chinese culture was on display when the liong parade made its way from the monument to Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.

What made it distinctive was that its body was covered with tattoos and batik motifs. At an impressive 100-meter long, it broke a national record.

“The liong was named as the longest of its kind because it was made from batik,” coordinator of the event Rocky Oktora said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Rocky said the liong was supported by cane, which was then wrapped with batik motifs from Central and West Java.

Moreover, the liong dancers were not actual dancers but instead high school and college students.

“But they were skilled in playing the liong,” Rocky said, adding that the liong weighed 95 kilograms.

Aside from the festivities, thousands of Chinese Indonesians prayed at Vihara Dharma Jaya in Central Jakarta and Vihara Dharma Bhakti in Petak Sembilan in West Jakarta.

Leni, 16, said that she and her family were wishing for more prosperity during the new year.

“We also prayed for our beloved ancestors,” she said.