The Dai Gum San Precinct was full of colour and noise for the awakening of the imperial dragons Loong, Sun Loong and Dai Gum Loong.
Dragon and lion dancing troops from Bendigo, Melbourne, Canberra, Darwin and even Hong Kong performed to hundreds of people.
"I'm blown away," Bendigo Chinese Association President Doug Lougoon said. "That was fantastic. I've never seen anything like that in an awakening.
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"Obviously we have a bit of a catalyst this year with the Dai Gum Loong project so it's really great that it's spurred on these people to be so involved in Bendigo's culture.
"And it's great that we can share back and forth between our teams both in Australia and in Hong Kong. It was really good."
Patron of the ACT Chinese Australian Association Sam Wong said the awakening was "one of the best" he's ever seen.
Mr Wong's Canberra Prosperous Mountain Lion Dance team performed at the event for the first time.
"I think they were incredible," Mr Wong said. "They are a relatively young team where they've only been around for 15 years.
"Some of the other teams have been around for 70 years or beyond. We are enthusiastic, we are youthful but we are diligent."
Bruce and Sue Petts enjoyed the show from the crowd. Mr Petts will be helping to carrying Sun Loong during tomorrow's Bendigo Advertiser Gala Parade.
"It was great," Ms Petts said. "We normally go away each Easter but we've stayed home this year.
"We haven't seen it for quite a few years but it was amazing."
More than 100,000 firecrackers were used to wake the imperial dragons ahead of tomorrow's parade.
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Tara Cosoleto
Journalist covering courts and general news at the Bendigo Advertiser.
Journalist covering courts and general news at the Bendigo Advertiser.
