Xīn Nián Kuài Lè! 新年快乐 Happy Chinese New Year!
Join Liverpool’s Chinese New Year celebrations as we welcome the Year of the Rabbit.
Nestled on the south side of Liverpool city centre is the iconic Chinese Ceremonial Archway. Standing tall and visible from afar, it provides an impressive entrance to Chinatown, home to the oldest Chinese community in Europe.
A popular tourist attraction, it is a beacon of fortune and the focal point for people to gather to celebrate the annual Chinese New Year Festival. The streets adorned with Chinese lanterns, the dragon and unicorn displaying their strength and sharing good luck through traditional dance and of course the noisy firecrackers to ward off bad luck and delight the crowds.
This year, Culture Liverpool are thrilled to be able to celebrate the traditional Chinese New Year Celebrations in person once again. The symbolic Chinese lanterns will decorate the heart of Chinatown, buildings will be lit up red in honour of this age-old tradition, the dragon and unicorn will parade the streets and the stage returns to Great George Square to host a programme of live performances throughout the day.
There will also be plenty of Chinese food to sample from the many food stalls, art workshops with make and do activities as well as storytelling and the popular funfair.
Don’t worry if you can’t make it, there is plenty to enjoy online from the comfort of your own home with a selection of activities and archive footage available before and after the main event.
The main event takes place on Sunday 22 January from 11:00am until 5:00pm, with a grand finale courtesy of Bring The Fire and their stunning fire show. Following this you can head over to the Bombed Out Church for a spectacular projection show.
Chinese New Year Celebrations Schedule (12pm – 5pm: Great George Square)
12pm – 12:45pm: Pagoda Arts – Flower Drums, Fan Tai Chi, Dance and Happy Dance!
12:50pm – 12:55pm: Friendship Dancers Moon Night Waltz
1:pm – 1:40pm: Firecracker Display – Lucky Man, Dragon and Unicorn Parades
1:40pm – 1:55pm: Liverpool Hung Gar Kung Fu Friendship Association – Martial Arts Demonstration
1:55pm – 2:15pm: Wah Sing Chinese Community Centre Dancers – Traditional Chinese Dance & Song, Bless You – Chinese Dance Performance, Draw You – Chinese Dance Performance, Beautiful Taihu – Chinese Dance Performance & Happy Every Year song – Singing Performance.
2:20pm – 2:45pm: Tian & LIMF Academy (in association with Pagoda Arts)
2:50pm – 2:55pm: Wirral Chinese Cultural Association: Classical Dance – Dream in Flowers
2:55pm – 3:pm: North East Wales Chinese Women’s Association – Traditional Chinese Dance
3:pm – 3:10pm: Movema Dance – Silk
3:15pm – 3:20pm: UK Phoenix Qipao Chinese Cultural & Art Association – The Big Fan Dance ‘WanJiang’ and The Silk Scarf QiPao show ‘The Picture Scroll of Love’
3:25pm – 3:30pm: Friendship Dancers – Beautiful River (Chinese Line Dance)
3:45pm – 4:10pm: Tian & LIMF Academy (in association with Pagoda Arts)
4:15pm – 4:25pm: Movema Dance – Silk
4:30pm – 4:55pm: Bring the Fire Project – Fire Finale
5:pm: STAGE CLOSE
** All times are subject to change. Please check the Culture Liverpool website and social media for any changes.