Media Credit: Kim Espinosa A boy feeds money to the hungry dragon at Chinatown Center's one-year anniversary Saturday morning. The celebration featured students from Walnut Creek Dragon Dance center and Texas Dragon Lion Dance, who have been teaching students, performing around Austin and spreading Chinese tradition for seven years.

Business accounting sophomore Fenny Jie was seeking a way to bring together her interests in the business field and the Asian community.

After speaking to a member of the Austin Asian-American Chamber of Commerce, Jie was told about an internship at the chamber that would allow her to serve both Asians and her interest in business.

Working with the chamber is a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the Asian community outside of campus, Jie said.

"The networks are so enriching," she added.

The Austin Asian-American Chamber of Commerce celebrated the grand opening of its new office on Saturday, now located at 10901 N. Lamar Blvd., in the Chinatown Center.

Austin's Asian population is on the rise, with an estimated 39,483 in 2006, an increase from the 30,960 recorded in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's Web site. Some businesses are striving to make themselves more visible to the Asian community in order to better serve it.

The Chinatown Center encompasses businesses such as Tiem Vang Ngoc Tran Jewelry, First Chinese BBQ Restaurant, Wok on Fire and Kim Hoan Jewelry, according the center's Web site.

Mia Baldonado, the chamber's outreach and events manager, said that its new location will provide "a lot more visibility."

The new office is more than three times the size of the old office, providing a larger main conference room and a second conference room. A grant from IBM will provide the new office with eight to 10 new computers, and its improved services will provide the community with information on business development and networking, Baldonado said.

The chamber celebrated its grand opening concurrently with the center's one-year anniversary and Central Texas' largest Moon Festival - which provided authentic Asian entertainment, food, and goods.

Having a large Asian community present at the festival made it a great time to celebrate both events, said Paula Hui, the chamber's chairperson. She and Austin City Council Member Jennifer Kim took part in the ribbon cutting, which followed the open house.

"What better place than to be in an area where much of the Asian community resides, so that we could better serve Asians and the community at large?" Hui said.

Susan Fifer, president of the Network of Asian American Organization's, said the relocation was a "step up for us." The Asian community's diversity allows the center to be more visible to a larger population, Fifer said.

Since it is a chamber, it brings out the business aspect of services to the community as well, Jie said.

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