How to Celebrate Chinese New Year in Manchester in 2023

It’s almost Chinese New Year! A super fun celebration for the beginning of the new year on the traditional lunar calendar.

Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays in China and on Sunday 22nd January 2023 we’ll be celebrating *drumroll*…the Year of the Rabbit!

If you’re a student staying in our fab student accommodation in Manchester and wondering how to celebrate Chinese New Year in Manchester, keep reading.

This annual holiday has been celebrated in the city for more than 40 years, so why not join in for 2023?

The best part is, you’ve got plenty of time to prepare and get your plans sorted #YearOfTheRabbit.

chinese new year manchester

1. Dragon Parade

Chinese New Year in Manchester would be nothing without the iconic Dragon Parade.

This parade is a HUGE part of Chinese New Year, so there really is no better time to get your plans sorted for you and your pals.

The 175ft dragon will be coming to the streets of Manny on Sunday 22nd January from 12pm in Piccadilly Gardens and going all the way to China Town, duh of course!

You can expect the streets filled with Chinese lanterns, a colorful parade, live performances, traditional dragon and lion dances, food and drink stalls as well as a funfair.

Kickstart the year of the rabbit at the Dragon Parade and celebrate the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations.

It’s free entry unless you want to spend your student loan on some tasty treats!

We’re sure lots more is yet to be announced for Manchester’s Dragon Parade as we move closer to the date, so stayed tuned.

Dragon Parade Manchester

2. Chinese New Year Street Stalls

Taking place from Saturday 21st January 2023 until Sunday 29th January, Manchester’s annual Chinese New Year celebrations will feature many stalls for you to take a visit to.

Each stall will offer something different from tasty Chinese food to traditional drinks to arts and crafts, you name it, there’s something for all.

Who wouldn’t love to sample some delicious cultural foods – we hope there’s dumplings and spring rolls, mmm!

This is the perfect chance to buy something nice for yourself or a friend or family member, as well as helping to support local traders.

The stalls are free to mooch around and will be open daily from 12pm until 7pm within Piccadilly Gardens so you have plenty of time to explore.

Chinese stalls Manchester

3. Illuminated Night Dragon Performance

Dragons are a symbol of good luck, health and strength in Chinese culture.

Dragon dances are performed at New Year to scare away evil spirits and it’s no doubt that you will see A LOT during these types of celebrations.

On Sunday 29th January 2023 there will be an illuminated night dragon performance which will start at Piccadilly Gardens and make it’s way to China Town.

Starting from 5pm, join in and watch the dazzling performance as the city centre is illuminated to welcome the Year Of The Rabbit.

If you’re living in Manc, this is not one to be missed and is perfect for capturing an Insta story or a TikTok vid!

We’re sure more details of this performance will be announced in due course so stay updated.

Illuminated night dragon performance

4. Go For A Meal In China Town

Food is a HUGE part of Chinese New Year, so there really is no better time to go for an absolute feast for you and your pals.

Spring rolls, dumplings and fish are commonly eaten on Chinese New Year.

Of, if you fancy something sweet, rice cakes are the one!

Translated as a “new year cake” this sweet and sticky dessert is a crowd-pleaser made from rice flour.

The cake is said to be a gift of good fortune for the new year, and there’s even a savoury version typically stir-fried in dishes in Northern china – yummy!

There’s plenty of different restaurants for you to visit in Manchester’s China Town for some traditional food.

Whether it’s a trip to The Little Yang Sing, Sweet Mandarin, Tattu or Happy Seasons Restaurants. 

Take your pick from an array of different eateries offering amaaazing foods.

Chinese new year restaurants

5. Have Oranges For Dessert

Another way of celebrating Chinese New Year in Manchester is choosing to have oranges for your dessert because they symbolize good luck and good fortune – we’ll take some of that please!

Head to your local supermarket and grab some mandarin, tangerines, oranges or clementines for a healthy snack during the day or for dessert.

That way you’re getting a nice bit of vitamin C and sticking with traditions too, winner winner!

Whilst it isn’t a celebration as such, it’s still nice to learn more about Chinese culture.

oranges chinese new year

6. Decorate Your Accommodation

It’s always so easy to tell when Lunar New Year is edging closer with the abundance of colourful decorations littering the streets of Manchester.

Red lanterns are always a popular choice for Chinese New Year as they are said to warn off bad luck, which we deffo don’t want for 2023!

Other significant decorations include paper cuttings to symbolise luck and happiness, door couplets and blooming flowers.

The most popular flowers used during Chinese New Year are orchids, peonies, peach blossoms and plum blossoms.

Whilst it’s not exactly a celebration, you can still host your own get together with your flatmates.

There’s nothing more fun than decorating your student accommodation for this special occasion, so its time to get creative!

Chinese New year decorations

7. Make Your Own Paper Lantern

Instead of buying a standard paper lantern, why not get creative and make your own this Chinese New Year in your student flat?

It could be a fun activity to do with your flatmates!

There’s plenty of tutorials you can follow on YouTube and TikTok that aren’t too complicated so you can make your own traditional lantern.

Just make sure you use the traditional colours of red and gold, pop some electric candles in the lantern and watch it glow!

making your own chinese lantern

8. Have Some Lucky Candy

Did you know? It’s actually a tradition to eat candied fruit and sweets, hooray!

You can grab some lucky candy on Amazon (which is always in red packaging) or head to your local Wing Yip store in Manchester.

Why not set out a bowl of tasty candy in apartment for you and your mates to share, it’s rude no to share after all 😉

lucky chinese candy

There we have it, 8 ways on how to celebrate Chinese New Year in Manchester – it sounds exciting, right?

We wish you a Happy Chinese Year and we wish you good fortune for 2023!

Tag us in any of your pictures for Chinese New Year, or let us know about any of the events in Manchester that we’ve missed @_homesforstudents.

Read next: New Year’s Resolution List For Students In 2023.

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