Here’s All Of The Chinese New Year Celebrations You Can Enjoy This Year In Manchester

Two years after the last proper IRL celebration (thanks to the ongoing pandemic, obviously), Manchester’s Chinese New Year celebrations are finally returning this weekend.

Taking place throughout Chinatown and across the city, Mancs will be able to bring in the Year of the Tiger in style – with plenty of events and activities to take part in as the weekend goes on.

Kicking off from today, February 1st, Mancs can potter around the city and enjoy the thousands of lanterns that are dotted in the trees, as well as visit the brand new tiger sculpture that has proudly popped up in St. Ann’s Square. The sculpture will remain in the square until this Sunday, when the city’s Chinese New Year celebrations are set to culminate.

For culture fans, HOME will also be hosting a Chinese New Year Film Season from 3rd-6th February, where viewers can enjoy a curated shorts package that connects China and Manchester. If literature is more your thing, the Portico Library has a special Chinese New Year collection available to browse this weekend, which boasts rare nineteenth-century books and illustrations on Chinese culture, alongside 200-year-old maps of Chinatown.

For the art lovers, Manchester Central Library is showcasing a collection of photographs by Adrian Bradshaw, which explores 1980s China and Asian culture, from opulent fashion extravaganzas to sentimental family excursions. The exhibition is open now until 26th April, meaning there’s plenty of time to explore once Chinese New Year is over.

Culminating the events on a high this Sunday, Manchester’s partially scaled-down celebrations will see live performances, workshops, food, stalls and a funfair take over Chinatown, with traditional lion dances, Chinese acrobatics, singing, poem reading and Kungfu, as well as an illuminated Dragon which will perform on the hour, every hour from 4-7pm.

Unfortunately, The Dragon Parade and Firework Finale will not be taking place in 2022, however, guests can enjoy the scaled-down version of the events from a safe distance as the country continues to tackle COVID-19 cases.

What other celebrations are taking place this year?

In addition to the city’s annual celebrations, Mancs can also get involved in Deliveroo’s fun fortune cookie hunt by ordering at any of the 25 selected Chinese restaurants on Deliveroo. Lucky recipients of the giant golden fortune cookies could win up to £1000, with thousands of pounds and other smaller prizes spread out across the fortune cookies. Manchester restaurants taking part include Happy Seasons, Eat East and Plymouth Grove Chinese Restaurant.

At The Ivy Asia, Spinningfields, guests will be able to enjoy an array of delicious Year of the Dragon themed cocktails right up until March, as well as an exclusive tiger-striped dessert featuring a chocolate mousse brownie with toasted coconut ice cream and topped with mouth-watering chocolate pearls.

Tattu has also unveiled a brand new menu ahead of the Lunar New Year, and will be celebrating with  a limited-edition, hidden surprise cocktail and dessert, capturing the spirit of the Tiger. Traditional lion dancers will animate the restaurant on February 3rd to elevate the evening, too, bringing an extra special ambience for the occasion. To accompany the cocktail, guests will also receive a red envelope in the spirit of Hong Bao, some of which are filled with well wishes, while others include sharing cocktails and gift vouchers.

This Thursday, 3rd February, GRUB will be teaming up with Little Yellow Rice Co for an evening of Lunar New Year celebrations, including an East and Southeast Asian makers market, a gin tasting experience, plenty of street food and a screening of Kung Fu Hustle. Find out more here.