A Guide to Celebrating Chinese New Year 2025 in London
2025 is the Year of the Snake, and if you would like to join the millions of people who celebrate the advent of Chinese New Year (also known as Lunar New Year) this year, then London is the place to be, in the UK at least!
Though New Year falls on Wednesday 29th of January, this year, head to the capital from Saturday 1st February to enjoy good food, fireworks and an incredible parade filled with lion dance performances, luminescent floats, flags and a sea of flickering red lanterns.
Between 11am and 5pm on Saturday the 1st of February, lion dancers will wend their way through the streets of Chinatown. But it’s on Sunday that the real celebrations will take place, with the Chinese New Year Parade and all the events surrounding it.
The fun begins at 10am in Trafalgar Square, on the Ceremonial stage, with the parade making its way along Charing Cross Road and Shaftsbury Avenue before heading into Chinatown. It’s set to be the largest gathering of stunning Chinese dragons and dancing lions in Europe, so you really won’t want to miss it!
For the rest of the day, you can enjoy incredible street food in Chinatown, take part in cultural workshops and other family activities in Leicester Square, or listen to speeches, watch a multitude of performances, and visit the many stalls that that will be filling Trafalgar Square.
If you want to a pick up a new skill then there are workshops on everything from making lanterns to cooking dumplings at Spitalfields and basket weaving, knot-making and woodblock printing at Greenwich Peninsula.
Interested in the stars? You might want to head to the Royal Observatory at Greenwich where, for one night only, they’re going to be hosting a Chinese astronomy show, including the Sun, Moon, stars and space exploration. It’s definitely worth a visit.
Several restaurants have prepared special menus and events for the occasion. BAO, which has five locations across the city, is gifting every customer with a red envelope containing snake-themed prizes. Xi Home Dumplings Bay has a treat for everyone in the form of their beautifully created sweet, steamed buns, each of them with an Instagrammable dragon face.
There’s so much happening over the Chinese New Year weekend in London that you could make a fun getaway of it.
If you’re thinking of spending the weekend with friends or family, soaking up the wonders of the Chinese New Year celebrations, enjoy up to 20% off your weekend away at any of our Charles Hope Apartments across the UK. These fully-serviced luxury apartments are located in prime spots across the country, including Brentford, Kew Bridge and Canary Wharf. With comfortable beds, stylish bathrooms and fully-fitted kitchens, they are the perfect place to end a busy day making Chinese lanterns, visiting the Royal Observatory or enjoying a wonderful meal.
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