Celebrating Chinese New Year - Sydney Style

If there's one thing Sydney is famous for, it's for knowing how to put on a grand show - and there's no time when this is more obvious than when the Sydneysiders celebrate the New Year. This year, Sydney is in a especially long celebratory mood, as it gets to have a massive blow-out for both the Western New Year AND Chinese New Year - all in one month!

Chinese New Year - A Tradition In Sydney

Every year, Australia’s largest and most cosmopolitan city puts a grand effort into welcoming the Chinese New Year, and this year the occasion is marked by a two-week long festival stretching from 27 January to 12 February. 2006 is the Year of the Dog in the Chinese calendar - and if you didn’t know that beforehand, you’d probably guess it from all the pictures of grinning pooches everywhere!

Though some might be surprised at how emphatically this traditionally Chinese festival is celebrated here, it's actually a well established tradition in Australia. The Chinese community has long been a major presence in the country, at least since the Gold Rush days of the late 1800s. If you’re inclined to thinking about the bigger picture, you could take Australia’s celebration of the New Year as a sign of the country’s vibrant multiculturalism and all that good stuff — but then, who wouldn’t want to celebrate with a whoop, a bang and a grand old fireworks show? Certainly not the 500,000 plus people who crowd Sydney’s streets during the festival!

As practically anyone familiar with Chinese New Year also knows, it’s traditional to welcome the new year with as much colour and noise as possible. We’ll get to the noise bit later, but if you walk around many areas in Sydney, you’ll certainly notice the colour, as marigolds, celosia, violets, begonias and dozens of other bright, cheery flowers spring up in bright floral displays. Some of the displays are even arranged in the shape of a dog!

Where To Go To Celebrate CNY

Of course, to see Chinese New Year celebrations in full swing, you’d probably have to stop by Chinatown in Dixon street at least once. If you'd like to learn the history behind the traditions and the local community, there are tours of  Chinatown available, and one of the highlights of the tours is to hearing the stories of some of the more famous - or just unsavory - characters who populated the Chinatown of yesteryear!

Don't be surprised if you run into large crowds in the shopping malls, and especially in Chinatown - Chinese New Year is traditionally the time when EVERYONE goes out to buy new clothes, and it may sometimes seem like the whole world and his dog are desperately shopping all at the same time! On 4 and 5 February, the main street mall area is given over to the Chinatown Markets, and for two days visitors get to try a huge variety of traditional dishes Still, that does mean its a great time to buy a beautiful cheongsam or mandarin-coloured shirt, especially some of the really grander pure-silk ones that go on sale this time of year - not to mention the obligatory red clothes, red shoes, red accessories and other red things to wear for a really festive air!

There are many events to commemorate Chinese New Year, but perhaps the most popular one is the Parade, which draws huge crowds of spectators. The Parade starts at 11 am on 5 February, but come early if you want a good view — the route goes from the Town Hall to Paddy’s Markets, so there’s plenty of pavement to find a spot with some elbow room. Lanterns play a major role in Chinese New Year celebrations, and some of the expected highlights of the parade are the beautiful 4 metre high lanterns of the Chinese Zodiac animals, which are specially made in China. Also coming from China this year are more than 200 performers - jugglers, acrobats and other artists, to make the show even more spectacular.

Chinese New Year - Ending With A Bang

A few days later, on the 11 and 12 of February, there are the even more exciting Dragon Boat races, which take place in Darling Harbour. On Saturday, you’ll see over 100 sweating teams in dragon-headed boats churning the waters furiously — by arm power alone, mind — as they speed across the Harbour towards the finish line. On Sunday, there are the more staid corporate races, which aren’t exactly traditional but are exciting all the same! And if you’re tired from elbowing for space in the shores, you can retreat to the food village nearby and fuel up on tasty treats. Again, be sure the get there before 8 am when everything starts, as almost 200,000 people come by the Harbour on that weekend.

Later in the evening of the 11th, don’t forget to stop by Star City Hotel at Sydney Harbour as they put on a show to celebrate the Lantern Festival, which is always held on the eve of the fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year. The Lantern Festival traditionally marks the end of the New Year period, and you can hardly miss the four-meter high lanterns of the Chinese Zodiac signs standing about, especially as they light up at about 8:30pm.

Now, remember that bit earlier about how you're supposed to welcome in the new year with as much noise and colour as possible? Well, stick around for a little bit more and you'll see Sydney's answer to the tradition, as starting from about 9pm, there will be a fantastic fireworks display, with all the whistles and shrieks anyone could wish for, to mark the close of Chinese New Year - until next year...

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First published 1 February 2006. This article is free for personal and commercial reproduction, with the following terms and conditions.