What’s on in Manchester | Chinese New Year Celebrations 2017

Manchester city centre is set to welcome in the Year of the Rooster in 2017 with its biggest and brightest Chinese New Year celebrations to date. The four days of celebrations, organised by Manchester’s Business Improvement District, the Federation of Chinese Associations of Manchester (FCAM) and Manchester City Council, is taking place from Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th January 2017.

Manchester’s most prominent buildings and landmarks will be lighting up red whilst streets are filled with thousands of authentic red Chinese lanterns ready to celebrate the Chinese New Year. With one of the largest Chinese communities within the UK, the Chinese New Year celebrations in Manchester city centre are set to be filled with spectacular parades, exclusive in-store events and authentic Chinese dining.

President of the FCAM, Mrs Lisa Yam said:

“The annual Chinese New Year celebrations in Manchester are extremely important to the Chinese community
in Manchester and the northwest of England and are always very well attended and supported.

“This years celebrations are set to be the biggest and best ever and I hope everyone will be able to join us
to welcome in the year of the Rooster. I would like to say a big thank you to all FCAM’s partners and
sponsors including The Heart of Manchester BID, Manchester City Council, The Arts Council, Manchester
Airport and Hainan Airlines for their continued hard work, effort and support.”

Here are some of the most anticipated events happening across the city centre to celebrate the start of the Year of the Rooster.

Events

The Dragon Parade
Albert Square & Chinatown
Sunday 29th January, 12 – 6pm

The popular Dragon Parade is led by a spectacular 175-foot dragon from Manchester Town Hall to the heart of Chinatown, where visitors can find performances across two stages from Chinese acrobats and artists direct from Chengu, traditional lion dances and music. As well as various performances across the day, there will be Chinese markets and street food, Chinese arts and crafts and a funfair; with the day finishing with a spectacular fireworks finale; see below for event timings and locations.

12pm – Dragon and music performances, Albert Square
12pm – 5pm – Chinese Arts & Crafts, Albert Square
12pm – 8pm – Chinese Market, Albert Square and Chinatown
12pm – 8pm – Funfair, Chinatown
1pm – The Dragon Parade, Albert Square to Chinatown
1.30pm – 5pm – Stage shows, Chinatown and Albert Square
2pm– 5pm – The Lion and the Unicorn with firecrackers, Chinatown
6pm – Fireworks, Chinatown

The Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors
Exchange Square, outside Corn Exchange
Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th January, 10am – 9pm

Chinese New Year festivities within the central shopping district will see the acclaimed travelling international art exhibition “The Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors” heading to the city for the first time.

Originally commissioned for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the stunning art installation by artist Xia Nan comprises of 40 two metre high lantern warriors which will illuminate Exchange Square throughout the Chinese New Year celebrations. The impressive installation takes inspiration from the famous ‘Terracotta Army’ which was accidentally uncovered in the tomb of China’s First Emperor and is regarded as the 8th Wonder of the Ancient World. Secured by Manchester’s Business Improvement District, The Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors has already appeared in some of the World’s most iconic locations, including Sydney Opera House, Zagreb Central Square and Prague’s Hradcany Castle.

Jane Sharrocks, Chair of the Heart of Manchester Business Improvement District and General Manager at Selfridges Exchange Square, said: “Securing The Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors is major coup for the city and a real opportunity for visitors to engage with a breathtaking world-class exhibition.”

Giant Chinese Golden Dragon
Greengate Square, opposite Manchester Cathedral
Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th January, 10am – 8pm

Take a selfie with the glittering giant Golden Dragon, which is returning this year in its brand new location at Greengate Square for the long weekend. You can share your pictures with the dragon on social media using the hashtag #chinesenewyearMCR. Also keep an eye out for The Travelling Light Circus’ roving parades of dancers, stiltwalkers, drummers and giant rooster, which will be weaving their way along Deansgate and King Street.

Food & Drink

Chinese New Year Street Food Market
St Ann’s Square
Thursday 26th – Sunday 29th January, 11am-7pm

Visitors to the city will be able to sample authentic Chinese cuisine from the street food market in St Ann’s Square throughout the weekend. Richly draped Marquees in the Square will host some of Manchester’s best Chinese food and drink purveyors, including the likes of Yang Sing, Rice Bowl, Dim Sum Su, Tampopo and Mei Mei’s Street Cart who will be serving up favourites such as steamed buns (Gau Bau), Chinese street food (Jianbing), dim sum and traditional festive dumplings.

This mouthwatering display of Chinese street food will be alongside market stalls offering Chinese goods in Chinatown and Albert Square on Sunday 29th.

Manchester’s iconic Cantonese restaurant Yang Sing will also be celebrating its 40th year and the Year of the Rooster in 2017 with a whole host of activities for the occasions including dim sum making workshops, competitions and prize giveaways.

Hilton Manchester Deansgate
Deansgate
Monday 23rd – Sunday 29th January

Say hello to the year of the rooster at the Hilton Hotel Manchester Deansgate. Indulge in an exclusive Asian inspired feast at the Podium restaurant and enjoy Chinese favourites such as classic duck spring rolls with a soy, sesame and honey dipping sauce and tempura king prawn garlic, chilli and ginger chow mien. Book a table and you can enjoy two courses for £24.95 or three courses for £29.95

To enjoy Chinese New Year in style, head to the panoramic sky bar, Cloud 23 for Chinese-inspired cocktails and fortune cookies to see what 2017 may hold. You could also try your hand at exclusive workshops including the art of calligraphy or learning Mandarin – available on request for group bookings or as add-ons for pre-booked meetings

Art, Culture and Entertainment

Manchester City Football Club pop-up

New Cathedral street
Friday 27 – Sunday 29 January, 10am – 7pm

Celebrating its Chinese connections, Manchester City Football Club will be coming to New Cathedral Street with an exclusive pop-up fan zone; which will include exclusive Manchester City merchandise to purchase, fun games and experiences throughout the day

Live Music Stage

St Ann’s Square 
Thursday 26 – Sunday 29 January, 12noon – 6pm

Local Chinese musicians, including Henry Fung will be providing the soundtrack to this weekend’s Chinese New Year celebrations on a live music stage in St Ann’s Square. Saturday’s entertainment is programmed and curated by Manchester’s Confucius Institute with ‘A musical journey through China’, featuring solo artists playing traditional Chinese instruments alongside classic folk music throughout the afternoon

St Ann’s Church will also host The University of Manchester’s chamber choir Ad Solem, who will be performing three special pieces of music to commemorate their 10th anniversary, alongside traditional Chinese New Year songs.

Family Chinese Arts and Crafts

Manchester Arndale
Saturday 28th January, 11am – 5pm

Families can get in on the fun at Manchester Arndale’s Chinese new Year creative workshops in association with Manchester Confucius Institute. Families will be able to explore the traditional art of writing Chinese characters and make personalised paper lanterns and badges to take home.

Wonder Turner workshops

Manchester Arndale, Exchange Court
Sunday 29th January, 11am – 5pm

The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art will be hosting a free public art workshop making ‘Wonder Turners’ – popular optical toys from the 19th century made using a disk with a picture on each side attached to two pieces of string.

Shopping

Harvey Nichols
New Cathedral Street

In partnership with Cathay Pacific Airways and Manchester Airport, Harvey Nichols is hosting a weekend of stylish activity, including exciting promotions, a prize draw to win a luxury four night trip to Hong Kong and a pop-up exhibition to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

The pinnacle of the weekend’s celebrations will include an exclusive shopping event on Saturday 28th January, with live DJ sets, complimentary drinks, beauty masterclasses Olivia Burton watch personalisation and a sneaker pop-up in menswear. Customers will also receive a lucky red envelope containing an exclusive treat with any beauty purchase.

Visit the Cathay Pacific Lounge instore from Friday 27th – Sunday 29th January for your chance to win a luxury four night stay atthe Island Shangri La with return business class flights, an exclusive styling service at the Harvey Nichols Hong Kong personal shopping suite and a case of your choice from the new Tumi 19 Degree luggage range.

An exclusive exhibition showcasing Manchester based illustrator Stanley Chow’s work will be open in a specially designed pop-up on the ground floor of the store. Featuring collections from the worlds of fashion and football, Manchester landmarks and the iconic works he has produced for Manchester’s Chinese New Year celebrations over the last four years, the Stanley Chow exhibition will be open daily during store trading hours.

Finally, toast to the Chinese new year in style with a specially created Feng Shui Collins cocktail and themed sharing plate at the Second Floor Bar and Brasserie until 11th February 2017, alongside an unrivalled view of the Lanterns of the Terracotta Warriors installation in Exchange Square.

Selfridges
Exchange Square

Manchester’s Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art is partnering with the Selfridges Exchange Square store for a weekend of in-store activity and unique animations by exhibiting artists projecting across the front of the store.

In-store activity includes Lion Dancers (Thursday 26th 12pm and 3pm), a Selfridges flower cart (Saturday 28th), personalised Chinese calligraphy cards (Saturday 28th – Sunday 29th), live fashion illustrator Dom&Ink (Friday 4th – Saturday 5th), fragrance bottle painting (Saturday 28th – Sunday 29th), Men’s trainer personalisation (Saturday 28th – Sunday 29th), complimentary engraving & embossing and surprise red envelopes with treats to be won including beauty treatments and afternoon tea.

House of Fraser
Deansgate

The House of Fraser store on Deansgate will also be handing out lucky red envelopes to customers, so it’s the perfect time to indulge in some retail therapy and receive some extra treats; with prizes including beauty surprises and money off vouchers.

For more information on Manchester’s Chinese New Year events, please visit the Chinese new Year in Manchester website. Follow the #ChineseNewYearMCR tag on social media to see all the action across the weekend.