Chinese New Year Manchester 2017

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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

Chorlton
Restaurant
Horse and Jockey Chorlton

Chorlton’s magnificent Horse and Jockey has had an almighty do-over, transforming it into one of South Manchester’s top must-visit drinking and dining destinations.

The Curling Club - Vinegar Yard
Castlefield
The Curling Club

New Jackson in Manchester is having a full scale seasonal takeover. Think curling lanes, lively bars and a packed line up of DJs and performances.

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.

What's on: Families

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.
Until
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
Freaky Friday at HOME
Until
FamiliesManchester
Freaky Friday at HOME

HOME’s Christmas show Freaky Friday makes its UK stage premiere. A funny, heartfelt Disney musical offering a body-swappingly brilliant alternative to panto.

From £27.70

Culture Guides

A doll with makeup peeks out of a hanging wall of butter yellow fabric. Red and black threads descend and cascade around the doll.
Exhibitions in the North

This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.

Music in the North

Manchester’s starting the new year with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.

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.
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

Textured portrait image of Jarman
Theatre in the North

Theatre across the North West splits between festive escape and sharp, urgent work exploring politics, power and resistance.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

Food and Drink in the North

Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.