Video Nation

Serving food during the celebration

Manchester has one of the largest Chinese populations in the country. The celebrations for New Year have grown over the years and 2008, the Year of the Rat, were expected to be the biggest ever.

Chinese New Year is the focal point of the Chinese cultural year and is now a regular event in the Manchester diary for many more than just the Chinese community.

Organiser, Tyze Li, spends many hours in meetings with businesses, shops and the City Council planning the weekend's events.

Caligraphy demonstration

The highlight of the show is always the 53 metre long Chinese Dragon. It parades around the city, from the Town Hall to Chinatown, where it is joined by the Lion and the Unicorn, who visit Chinese businesses to bring them good luck for the coming year.

In Chinatown and Albert Square, there's also Kung Fu demonstrations, folk dance and music, and the streets are lined with stalls selling food and colourful displays of toys and crafts.

The celebrations culminate in a dramatic and noisy firework display, which underlines the overall message of wishing everyone 'Kung Hei Fat Choi' - the traditional New Year message, which means 'Congratulations and be prosperous'.