A fire-cracking Good Time
The rise of the second new moon after the winter solstice heralds the start of Chinese New Year. And so on Sunday 6 February we enter the Year of the Dragon. Supposedly a symbol of stark opposites, the dragon heralds a period of good luck and spectacular victories. But it can also be an exhausting an unpredictable time - a bit like the raucous celebrations that will mark the occasion. Expect dragon dancing, extended parties and some very loud firecrackers, at all the locations in this round up of the bigger Chinese New Year events around the country.
High Kicks
London Chinatown's celebrations kick off at 12.30pm on Sunday 6 February in Leicester Square, with a firecracker display and dragon dance. This will be followed by Chinese dance displays by community groups and performances by Beijing artists. But the highlight of the afternoon will be the kung fu demonstration by monks from the Shaolin Temple.
Oriental East End
Across the city at Canary Wharf, the international Chinese Arts Festival takes place between Tuesday 8 and Sunday 13 February. This Shanghai Yan Huang gala opens at 7pm on Tuesday with fireworks and a parade in honour of Nuwa, the goddess of marriage.
During the festival Cabot Hall will be transformed into a traditional Chinese teahouse with some seriously arty shenanigans for creative types of all ages. There's also live music, dance, martial arts, storytelling, puppet shows, calligraphy workshops and delicious food.
The Chinese are renowned for doing amazing things with a simple sheet of A4 paper and they promise to reveal some of their secrets during origami, paper-cutting and kite-making workshops. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Opera Group will stimulate cultural vibes with recitals each evening from 7.30pm.
Karaoke Central
Birmingham's Chinese New Year celebrations spring into action with a firecracker-embellished lion dance outside the Hippodrome from 11.45 on Sunday 6 February. The festivities continue at the Arcadian Centre from 12pm to 4pm, where the Birmingham Chinese Women's Association will perform a traditional Chinese drama. The sit tight for a kung-fu demonstration, Chinese opera and Canto-pop music. Then, surely the highlight: Europe's Chinese Karaoke champions (didn't realise China was in Europe) take the stage - we're not sure if they do requests.
Ferry 'cross the Yangtze
Liverpool is now officially twinned with Shanghai, an exchange commemorated by a new archway in Chinatown. It is the largest Oriental archway outside the mainland and was imported piece by piece from China.
For New Year, the Liverpool Chinese community offers a plethora of self-improvement activities on Saturday 5 February. Increase your energy flow with a stop at the tai chi demonstration outside the See Yep Association. If your north-facing tea cosy radiates bad karma, remedy the situation by attending the feng shui demonstration at the Bluecoat Gallery between 4.30 and 6.30pm.
Those up for rampant merrymaking can join the visual feast of colour and firecrackers created by the passage of Dragons through the streets on Sunday 6 February. Chinese Lucky Man, the god of wealth, will also join the various performers on Nelson Street to bless crowd members with luck for the coming year.
Sunday is open day at the Wah Sing Community Centre, featuring performances of folk music and dance, and lessons in the refined art of brush calligraphy. Meanwhile, fans of natural remedies can attend a workshop in Chinese herbal medicine at the Chinese Gospel Church. On Sunday evening, the Liverpool Cuisine Youth Orchestra will perform at the renowned docu-soap venue, the Britannia Adelphi Hotel.
Time for Chi
Mancunians take their Chinese New Year celebrations seriously and this year is no different. The festivities start at the Trafford Centre on Saturday 5 February with face painting, parades, and acrobatics. And throughout the New Year period, there are exhibitions of traditional and contemporary Chinese art at the Blyth Gallery and the Chinese Arts Centre.
Martial Arts fans should hit the Museum of Science and Industry over the weekend of 5/6 February for demonstrations and advice. Those seeking a physical and spiritual shape-up can receive tuition in the graceful art of tai chi, with medal winning practitioner Siaw-Voon Sim. Her classes run from 10.30am to 4pm daily, between Friday 4 and Friday 11 February.
On Sunday 13 February, a River of Light will flood the night sky over Castlefield canal basin. To round off events, the Chinatrash Club hits the Greenroom nightclub on Saturday 199, with DJ Youdin from Beijing and Shanghai Fusion Jazz musicians.
Chase the Dragon
Y2K marks the first ever official celebration of Chinese New Year in County Durham, after the local Chinese Association won a grant of 5000 from the Millennium Awards For All fund. The celebratory fortnight kicks off on Sunday 6 February with street procession led by a 160ft Chinese dragon - the largest in the UK - made by local schoolchildren.
The celebrations continue with a carnival in the city centre and a concert featuring traditional Chinese music and a score specially written for the Year of the Dragon.
-- Published by Virgin.Net, 1999