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Fire-breathing dragons and glowing lanterns: welcome the Year of the Snake in style at the best places to celebrate Lunar New Year in 2025.
It’s time to welcome in the Year of the Snake, promising creativity, elegance, prosperity, courage and wisdom. From 29 January 2025, cities around the world celebrate the new year with street parades, festive decorations, glowing lanterns and dazzling firework displays. No matter where you are in the world, we’ve found the best cities to enjoy this year’s Lunar New Year celebrations.
Singapore
The Lion City brings in the Lunar New Year with a bang with its annual Chingay Parade at the F1 Pit Building on 7 and 8 February 2025. Pay a visit to Gardens by the Bay from 27 January until 5 February to witness jaw-dropping nightly fireworks displays along the River Hongbao; this year the festivities are doubling as a celebration of Singapore’s 60 years of independence.
Bangkok, Thailand
The Thai capital knows how to throw a party, and its Lunar New Year festivities are no exception, starting 10 February. Bangkok’s Chinatown is a treasure trove of bright red paper lanterns, dragon dancers, firecrackers, acrobatic performers and sensational Chinese cuisine. Don your best red outfit and head out to watch the three Thai princesses visit the shrines to pay respect and pray for a fortunate year ahead. Bangkok’s massive Central World shopping centre is utterly transformed during New Year, with events including traditional tea tastings, calligraphy classes, peony gardens and pop-up shrines.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is set ablaze with its annual Cathay International Chinese New Year Night Parade taking over the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui on 29 January, showcasing astonishing street floats from around the world. Following the parade, the floats are displayed for all to see from 30 January until 13 February at Lam Tsuen Wishing Square. Don’t forget to make a wish on the Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree while you’re there!
San Francisco, USA
Boasting the oldest Chinatown in the United States and the biggest outside of Asia, the events calendar in San Franciso is stacked over Lunar New Year. The celebrations start on 29 January with an opening ceremony featuring performances from Xiaopei Chinese Dance school in Portsmouth Square, and will be followed by a basketball tournament, flower market and the Miss Chinatown USA Pageant. The season culminates with the Chinese New Year Community Street Fair, which includes an annual parade with intricate floats and high-energy street performances.
London, United Kingdom
Across 1–2 February 2025, Soho in central London becomes the place to be for Lunar New Year festivities in the city. Chinatown will play host to vibrant lion-dancing performances before an elaborate parade weaves its way through the city. The Greenwich Royal Observatory will be hosting a spectacular presentation in its planetarium exploring traditional Chinese astronomy.
Sydney, Australia
Haymarket becomes a hub of activity during the Sydney Lunar Festival, a 19-day spectacular celebration to welcome in the Year of the Snake. From 29 January there will be lion dancing, dragon-boat racing, serpentine art installations and more than 150 street food stalls at the Haymarket Street Festival.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
In Vietnam’s lively city, the Lunar New Year – or Tet – is an extravagant affair and is one of the most important festivals in Vietnam. The new year is all about celebrating with family (preferably over a large, mouthwatering banquet) and starting afresh. If you’re in Ho Chi Minh City during Tet, you’re sure to feel the palpable excitement in the air: parties will pique your interest, vibrant crimson decorations bedazzle the streets, and kitchen doors are flung open, their delicious aromas wafting across the city streets. To get involved, head to a local calligrapher to request a calligraphic design, which is a tradition linked to seeking good health, fortune and prosperity for the new year.
Shanghai, China
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Every Chinese New Year, Shanghai’s Yuyuan Gardens become aglow during the Chinese Lantern Festival. This year’s celebrations kick off on 1 January and run until 12 February, allowing nearly one month for people to revel in this magical tradition. Walk under amber lanterns strung across the streets in uniform rows, many of which represent the dragon and the Mountain and Seas mythology that dates back 2,000 years. A little further up in the country’s capital city, Bejing joins the celebrations in a colourful display of fireworks, fairs and traditions.
New York City, USA
Held later in the Lunar New Year calendar, New York City’s annual Chinese New Year Parade and Festival winds its way through the city, making the city that never sleeps come to a standstill. Fancy yourself a master at mahjong? Ace Hotel Brooklyn is throwing the unmissable SSSNAKESSS: A Lunar New Year Mahjong Night, with a mahjong tournament for people all over to test their skills (and enjoy a delicious meal while they’re at it).
Beijing, China
China’s capital is home to a massive amount of New Year’s traditions, but for travellers seeking a glimpse of traditional celebration, the pine-flanked Jietai Temple offers the perfect chance. Jietai rings in the New Year with 108 tollings of its blessing bell, spreading happiness and good fortune to all. Other must-sees include the Baroque-inspired Solana Light Show, with vivid installations and light displays that take place over Solana Shopping Park in January.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with a bang at KLCC Park with vivid fireworks displays. From January 21, a sea of glowing red lanterns and radiant snake lanterns await at the six-tiered Thean Hou Temple (dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu); January is also a perfect chance to sample yee sang (‘prosperity toss’), a traditional salad of vegetables, salmon, dumpling wrappers and hoisin that’s eaten at feasts across the country.
Seoul, South Korea
Seoul becomes a much quieter place during the Seollal (New Year) period as many people return to their hometowns to visit family, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t incredible things to do in the city. Spend the day at Namsangol Hanok Village or Gyeongbokgung Palace to see traditional Korean performances and participate in a traditional activity like kite or hanji mirror making.