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Dates of Chinese New Year Celebration in 2020:

Jan. 24th, 2020 (Chinese New Year’s Eve) to Feb. 8th, 2020 (Lantern Festival). Chinese New Year in 2020 falls on Saturday, January 25th, being the start of the Year of the Rat. The year ends on February 11th, 2021 according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

When is Chinese New Year?

With over 4,000 years of history, Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival, remains the most important cultural holiday for Chinese people.

The festival begins officially on the first day of the first lunar month (usually in late January or early February) and ends on the 15th day of the first lunar month (the Lantern Festival), thus lasting 15 days.

Why is Chinese New Year important?

Chinese New Year is a time to celebrate good luck during the previous year and to wish for a prosperous new year.

Celebrations include having an annual reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve, setting off firecrackers, giving lucky money to children, ringing the New Year bell, sending Chinese New Year greetings, dragon and lion dancing, and Niu Yangge (traditional dances in northern China).

What are some Chinese New Year traditions?

Chinese New Year is a time to:
• get rid of the old and make way for the new;
• worship Heaven and pray for a bumper harvest year;
• reunite the whole family and honor the ancestors;
• participate in all kinds of creativity and having fun…

Chinese New Year Food

Family Reunion Dinner:
Southern China – typically steamed fish, Cantonese poached chicken, and red braised pork
Northern China – mostly hotpot, noodles, dumplings, and New Year’s cake (Nián Gāo)
Other Festive Food:
Laba Porridge – the 8th day of the last lunar month
Sticky Rice Dumplings (Tāng Yuán) – the Lantern Festival

Travel Destinations

Destination Celebration Activities or Venues During Chinese New Year
Beijing Spring Festival carnivals, Peking Opera, acrobatics shows, tea culture displays
Hong Kong Chinese New Year Night Parade, New Year Fireworks Display, New Year Flower Market, Chinese New Year Horse Racing
Harbin Go skiing and see Harbin Ice and Snow World
Chengdu Watch Sichuan Face-Changing Opera, play Mahjong while drinking tea
Shanghai Full of parties, a large-scale fireworks display on New Year’s Eve
Yunnan See Yuanyang Terraced Fields, Red Fields in Dongchuan and Luoping Cole Flowers Fields