by Juan Manuel Nievas

BUENOS AIRES, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese descendants and expatriates in Argentina, who make up the country's fourth-largest foreign community, are getting ready to celebrate the Lunar New Year the traditional way, even as their families increasingly include more Argentinian members.

The celebration, also known as the Spring Festival, reinforces family ties by bringing members together to ring in the New Year in keeping with their cultural heritage.

Just ask Francisco Risso Patron (35) and his Chinese-born wife Zou Di (33), who will be celebrating the holiday with their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter Victoria and their close friends.

They have already decorated their apartment, located in the Monserrat district of the capital Buenos Aires, with red lanterns, or "denglong," strung out on the balcony, and the customary red banners, known as "chunlian," hanging on the front door to bring good luck.

"I always insist on celebrating all the holidays and traditional celebrations of both cultures, especially after my daughter was born. It's an important time for her to know more about Chinese culture," said Zou, a native of Baicheng, in China's Jilin province.

The two met in 2009 while studying at the Teachers College in Changchun, also in Jilin. Francisco was studying Mandarin, and Zou was working on her doctorate in linguistics.

They married two years later in Shanghai, and after a couple of months moved to Argentina, where they continue to observe Chinese New Year celebrations, which this year falls on Feb. 16.

"We celebrate the Chinese New Year at home, and invite friends," said Zou, a teacher and translator.

"Even though my parents are not here, she (Victoria) knows it is an important holiday in Chinese culture, and she also learns words ... how to say New Year, what the decorations are called. It's a way for me to preserve the culture of where I'm from," added Zou.

Francisco, an engineer, said that over the years they have melded their two cultures into one.

"Our life today is like this, we both formed ourselves this way," he said.

Before Thursday night's dinner with friends, including other Chinese-Argentinian couples, and Chinese students of Spanish or Argentine students of Mandarin, Francisco and Zou make last-minute preparations and head to a local Chinese supermarket for some of the ingredients they will need.

They plan to serve "jiaozi," or classic Chinese-style dumplings, a typical dish eaten at the stroke of midnight to welcome the New Year.