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Chinese New Year is always a colourful cultural highlight, bringing brightness to the dark winter days here in the UK. This is especially true for a city like Manchester, whose Chinatown buzzes all year round but becomes a hive of activity and celebration come New Year.
While the celebrations have been pared back slightly this year, there’s still plenty of action to welcome in the Year of The Tiger in Manchester City Centre. This includes photography exhibitions, film events, and the presence of a huge wooden tiger watching over St Ann’s Square. And many of the annual Chinatown celebrations will be going ahead, too, including thousands of red lanterns on the city’s trees, an illuminated dragon, traditional lion dances, Chinese acrobatics, singing, poetry reading, Kungfu, lantern-making workshops, exhibitions and – of course – dazzling explosions of colour everywhere you look!
The celebrations also present a great opportunity to stop for a bite to eat in one of the city’s best Chinese restaurants (find our top picks of those below). Our call is to get down to Chinatown early, take a seat, order some delicious food and soak in the festivities as Manchester rings in the Lunar New Year.
Here are our picks
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1. Chinatown Celebrations in Manchester
Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net) Chinatown Celebrations in Manchester, 6 February 2022, free entry - Find Out More
Head into Manchester’s Chinatown to celebrate the Year of the Tiger, with live performances, workshops, food stalls and a funfair on the cards.
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2. The Door Opened: 1980s China – Photographs by Adrian Bradshaw at Central Library
The Door Opened: 1980s China - Photographs by Adrian Bradshaw at Manchester Central Library, Manchester, Until 26 April 2022, free entry - Visit now
Coinciding with Chinese New Year, Manchester’s Central Library is hosting a fascinating exhibition by British photojournalist Adrian Bradshaw, with a blend of candid and posed photographs revealing China in the 1980s.
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3. The New Year Tiger at St Ann’s Square
Photo by Efe Yağız Soysal on Unsplash The Year of The Tiger at St Ann’s Square, City Centre, 1–6 February 2022, free entry - Find Out More
A giant, benevolent tiger sculpture will loom over St Ann’s Square this February, marking the Year of the Tiger.
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4. Chinese New Year 2022 at HOME
HOME Chinese New Year 2022 at HOME Manchester, Manchester, 3–6 February 2022 - Book now
Hong Kong action and documentary shorts from the mainland, HOME are collaborating with the Confucius Institute and Chinese Film Forum UK to bring two new film events to Manchester.
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5. Yellow Furry Lullaby at FACT
Yellow Furry Lullaby at FACT, City Centre, 4 February 2022, free entry - Find Out More
London-based Korean diaspora artist duo Breakwater present a powerful storytelling performance examining the historical trauma of Chinese indentured labour.
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6. Chinese New Year: Lantern watercolour painting at Ordsall Hall
Chinese New Year: Lantern watercolour painting at Ordsall Hall, Manchester, 30 January 2022, from £8.00 - Book now
Get the creative juices flowing with a relaxing lantern making and decorating workshop that’s perfect for the whole family.
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7. Ho’s Bakery
Ho’s Bakery, 56 Faulkner Street, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M1 4FH - Visit now
Buns buns buns! The aroma of Ho’s drifts down onto the street, drawing you in like Yogi Bear to a picnic basket and causing you to part with your cash in exchange for calories. No, it’s not a healthy option – even the stuff that looks like it might be vaguely savoury is packed with soft and sugary sumptuousness – but who cares when it tastes this good. Get some to fuel yourself for the festivities.
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8. Yang Sing
Yang Sing -
9. Sweet Mandarin
Sweet Mandarin -
10. Tattu
Ian Jones -
11. Yu Alderley Edge
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12. Hyde Park Picture House Presents: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon at Leeds University Union
via Leeds Inspired -
13. Horizons New Year 2022 – Shoots Scratch Night at The Lowry
Image courtesy of Milk Tea Alliance Mei Yuk Wong. Horizons New Year 2022 - Shoots Scratch Night at The Lowry, Manchester, 4 February 2022, from £5.00 - Book now
To celebrate the Lunar New Year -The Lowry have teamed up a brilliant community of north-west based British East Asian and South East Asian creatives. Seize the opportunity to see some brand-new theatre in development at The Lowry.
Related Guides
Food and Drink in Manchester and the North
Start the year with something special and by checking out some of the most exciting restaurants and bars in Manchester and the North.
Art Galleries in Manchester & Salford
Here’s a list of our favourite art galleries in Manchester and Salford, and what to look forward to when they reopen.
Chinatown Manchester Restaurants
Head over to Manchester’s Chinatown and you’ll be spoilt for choice. That famous Faulkner Street arch looks down on some of the city’s most exciting eateries. Here are five of the best.
Chinatown, Manchester
Chinatown is a network of back streets dotted with Chinese restaurants – go to Ho’s Bakery for perfect honey buns, Hunan for spice and Middle Kingdom for a very affordable menu.
Families
As we welcome in 2022, we look ahead to exciting family activities and fun days out taking place across Manchester and the North in the new year.
Things to do right now
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