After a few months preparation, organized by the Confucius Institute at Bangor University, the Peking Opera Mask Painting Activity was held at Pontio shop on February 1, 2014, for the celebration of the Chinese New Year.

The Pontio shop was a famous culture institution in downtown Bangor. Before the doors opened, there were already several people waiting for it. This activity lasted for three hours. During the last five minutes before the activity finished, a group of people entered to ask whether they could participate in the painting or not. Seven or eight groups of people (about 80 people) participated in the activity. All were very enthusiastic about it.

It was difficult to organize the activity for the public because the number of people and their ages was unknown. Teachers of the Confucius Institute had made full preparation for the activity by implementing marketing promotion, collecting Peking Opera masks, preparing the introduction of different kinds of masks and some sample masks for painting, purchasing white masks, pigments and paintbrushes, etc. During the Spring Festival, teachers sacrificed their rest time to organize this activity. They were very busy explaining masks to people and instructing them how to paint, preparing tools and masks, having parents signing license files for photo permission, etc. Participants usually came with the whole family. Some adults, fans of the Peking masks came alone. The masks painted by children have free streams of consciousness. Adults preferred to choose small masks. They painted all details elaborately and some of them also added western styles and colors.

This activity was a part of the Chinese New Year celebration. The description of this activity was published in an influential painting album named "2014 Spring Activities" sponsored by Pontio. Relevant activities had been announced for half a year. It was very helpful for enhancing the publicity of the Confucius Institute, while also enriching the Chinese New Year celebrations.

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