Chinese New Year Manchester 2017

Creative Tourist

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Chinese New Year in Manchester 2017

26-29 January 2017

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

The Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors
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In 2017 we’re saying goodbye to the year of the Monkey and hello to the year of the Rooster (more specifically the Fire Rooster), a sign that represents people who are ‘trustworthy’ and have ‘a strong sense of timekeeping and responsibility’. While that might not sound like the recipe for a party, you’d be wrong: there are lots of festive spectacles going on across the city, with this year promising to be Manchester’s biggest Chinese New Year celebration to date, whether you’re being dazzled by the terracotta warriors, tantalised by the tasty cuisine or simply soaking up the atmosphere.

The city centre will be painted red as the streets are lined with thousands of Chinese lanterns and buildings light up in celebration of the festivities. A 50ft Golden Dragon will call Greengate Square its home for the weekend while The Travelling Light Circus’ roving parade of dancers, drummers, a stiltwalker and giant rooster will weave their way through the city’s shopping streets.

Other highlights include the traditional lion dancers, shopping events at some of the city’s top stores, including Selfidges, and family craft events at Manchester Arndale and the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art.

Where to go near Chinese New Year Manchester 2017

Chadderton Town Hall
Manchester
Event venue
Chadderton Town Hall

Chadderton Town Hall is a magnificent example of Edwardian architecture . Built in 1912/13 in the style of ‘English Renaissance’ and recently restored maintaining its traditional features in regal reds

Cumbria
Restaurant
Heft

A Michelin star restaurant and homely 17th century inn in the Lake District, with food provided by esteemed chef Kevin Tickle.

Tangerine
Chapel Street
Restaurant
Tangerine

Manchester’s latest must-visit multipurpose venue, offering top-level food, drinks and live shows.

Bar Posie
City Centre
Bar or Pub
Posie

A new cocktail bar from the crack team behind 10 Tib Lane and Henry C.

Manchester
Food hall
Kargo MKT

Mighty food hall in Salford Quays, with around twenty street food vendors, serving a huge range of cuisines.

Asap Coffee Interior/ Counter
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
ASAP Coffee

If you’re looking for quality coffee and a decadent brunch in a setting that nails the Northern Quarter brief, you’d struggle to do better than ASAP Coffee.

Interior of George St Chapel
Manchester
Event venue
George Street Chapel

This beautifully restored former Independent Methodist Chapel in the heart of Oldham is as much a creative hub as a heritage landmark.

Chinatown
Restaurant
Pho Cue

Family-run Vietnamese restaurant in Chinatown. Prepare to queue for Pho Cue.

What's on: Families

Until
FamiliesCity Centre
Manchester Christmas Markets

The Manchester Christmas Markets are back for 2025, with many dozens of stalls in front of the town hall, and hundreds of traders spread across city-centre squares.

Free entry
Two young visitors looking up at a banner in a case, holding pencils and an activity sheet.
Until
ActivityManchester
2025 Banner Bingo at PHM

Explore the People’s History Museum with your banner bingo card in hand as you navigate their galleries through the lens of craftivism.

Free entry
A performer in a bright red costume sits on a snowy stage set, holding a large snowball between their legs with a surprised expression. The colourful winter backdrop features snowflakes, hills, a snowman, and a traffic light with glowing lights.
FamiliesManchester
The Snowy Day at Z-arts

This winter, families with little ones are invited into a shimmering world of snow and discovery with the new production of The Snowy Day.

From £10.00
Get Outside with Bradford 2025: An image of a large man made pool with fountains in front of a historic building with a clock tower
Until
FestivalsBradford
Get Outside with Bradford 2025

Explore art in the moorlands, soundscapes through the glen and appreciate how the city has become totally transformed when you get outside with Bradford 2025.

Free entry

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