Chinese New Year in Manchester: Chinatown Celebrations

Shekina Rose, Families Editor
EDITORIAL USE ONLY Performer Kaiyuan Bao prepares to take part in the Dragon Parade as part of Manchester’s Chinese New Year Celebrations to welcome in the Year of the Rabbit. Picture date: Sunday January 22, 2023. PA Photo. This year’s celebrations, organised by the Federation of Chinese Associations of Manchester (FCAM), in partnership with Manchester Business Improvement District (BID) and Manchester City Council, will also see a week long residency of traditional street food stalls in the city’s Piccadilly Gardens from today to Sunday January 29 and a final performance from an illuminated night dragon to close this year’s festivities next Sunday in Piccadilly Gardens. Photo credit should read: Fabio De Paola/PA Wire.
Chinese New Year Manchester.

1 — 2 February 2025 Entrance is free

The UK’s brightest Chinese New Year celebrations are returning to Manchester this February, as the city comes together to celebrate and welcome in the Year of the Snake. The Snake is a symbol of rebirth, wisdom, transformation, luck and authority in traditional Chinese culture.

The ultimate highlight of the Chinese New Year Celebrations in Manchester, The Dragon Parade, is taking place on Sunday 2 February. Crowds will gather to watch a 175ft Chinese dragon winding its way through the city’s shopping streets, accompanied in a procession of traditional lion and ribbon dancers, stunning Chinese opera performers, twelve spectacular Zodiac animals, and fascinating ancient army characters. The parade is a truly spectacular event packed with culture, and even better – it’s free!

Fabio De Paola/PA Wire

There will also be a live performance stage packed with shows, a delightful fun fair for the little ones, and delicious street food stalls for when you’re feeling peckish. You could also stop and have a bite to eat in one of the great restaurants that run along George Street, Nicholas Street and Faulkner Street.

Chinese New Year in Manchester is impossible to miss, with iconic red lanterns and golden ornaments dotted around Manchester in the lead-up to the big day of celebrations, illuminating the city’s streets and creating a buzz amongst Manchester residents and beyond.

All events on 1 February will run from 11am – 7pm.

1 — 2 February 2025 Entrance is free

Where to go near Chinese New Year in Manchester: Chinatown Celebrations

Church congregation at St George's Church in Leeds
Leeds
Place of worship
St George’s Church

St George’s is a lively city centre church in Leeds with three services every Sunday and a midweek programme that includes groups, courses and events. We’re here to help people

Picante
Liverpool
Restaurant
Picante

Picante is a sun-soaked Mexican restaurant at the trailblazing Cains Brewery Village in Liverpool.

Miru Mill
Manchester
Event venue
Miru Mill

Miru Mill is an event space and micro-factory based at Churchgate Mill in Stockport.

Spa
iglu sauna

An authentic and affordable sauna and cold plunge experience in Hebden Bridge, in a beautiful outdoor setting amongst the trees. Book a regular session for £12 per person, or find…

Salford
Restaurant
Kallos Cafe & Wine Bar

Kallos is a Greek restaurant and wine bar in Salford, serving up exquisite dishes throughout the day and evening.

Symmetry Room
City Centre
Museum
Museum of Illusions

Museum of Illusions Manchester is part of the global Museum of Illusions Group, the largest and fastest-growing chain of private museums in the world.

Tropical World logo
Leeds
Tourist Attraction
Tropical World

At Tropical World, families can enjoy a fun-filled and educational day out. Start your epic journey in the Butterfly House, where exotic butterflies fly freely through our swampy mangrove, fluttering

Manchester
Restaurant
Soap Street Pizza

Based at Nordie in Levenshulme, Soap Street Pizza put out the perfect pie: crispy base and inspired toppings.

What's on: Childrens

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.

portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
Literature Events in the North

We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Exhibitions in the North

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Cinema in the North

Live scores, midnight movies and the latest from Wes Anderson are just some of our upcoming film highlights.