Chinese New Year of the Rat

This year the Chinese New Year festival and parade will take place in London on Sunday 10 February.

chinese year of the rat

The Year of the Rat will be marked with a colourful parade from the Strand along Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue. Family entertainment throughout the day in Chinatown and the West End will include dragon and lion dances, traditional and contemporary Chinese arts, performers from London and China, firework displays and food stalls.

The New Year celebrations are part of the 'China in London' season which kicks off on 6 February marking the beginning of preparations for the Beijing Olympics in August. Regular events, including performances by artists from Beijing, a Beijing art exhibition and a Chinese film season, will continue until 6 April when the Olympic flame arrives in London on its way to Beijing.

Many British tourists are expected to travel to Beijing as China becomes an increasingly popular destination. Cox & Kings Far East Product Manager, Robin Ball, says: “China is really taking off as a tourist destination, with its thriving economy and developments in place for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Such has been the dramatic pace of development in China that visitors are now equally drawn to its spectacular modern architecture, including the new Olympic sites, as they are by the traditional attractions such as the Great Wall and Terracotta Warriors.”

Written by: Maxine Clarke

 

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Chinese New Year Of The Rat