Toronto buses decorated with Tiger to showcase Chinese culture

Buses in the Canadian city of Toronto are decorated with Tiger images to mark the Lunar New Year for the first time, and they are intended to better exhibit the Chinese culture, the designer of the bus decorations told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"That is a good opportunity to let the people of Toronto to understand more about our culture," said Brenda Tong who is a Chinese Canadian.

"In my mind, when I see the Tiger from the past, it's always black and white painting, and I want to translate it into a more colorful and cheerful kind of celebration, festive mood," Tong said. "Especially in this COVID and wintertime in Toronto, everybody needs something to cheer them up and make it more celebration."

"Because the tiger is the main theme and character of this year, I want to be more popped up from the background and add a little bit of shadow to the tiger," she explained her concept of designing. Tong also blended some other elements of the Lunar New Year, such as lanterns, firecrackers, and gold -- the symbol of fortune and good luck.

"The wrap is arousing a lot of interest and attention from the public," she said.

Starting from Jan. 28 and during the Lunar New Year period, four buses and one streetcar in Toronto are decorated with the design of tiger celebrating the Year of the Tiger. The decorated vehicles share a message of good fortune, which is expressed in multiple languages including Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, Tibetan, Tagalog, Malay, Indonesian and Mongolian.