The Lunar New Year lantern display and carnivals for this year’s Chinese New Year celebrations will take place from February 2-25, 2024. The main lantern display will be at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza in Tsim Sha Tsui, and there will be carnivals at Velodrome Park, Tin Shui Wai Park and Ginza Square from February 20-25.
The lanterns at the Cultural Centre will be lit on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, between 6pm and 11pm. This year, the lanterns have been designed by local paper crafting master Chan Yiu-wah, and will feature a green dragon in a nod to the Year of the Dragon and the vitality of spring. The lanterns also pay tribute to the dragon dance and local paper-crafting technique, which are both on the Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
In addition to the lantern display, the five-day carnival at the Cultural Centre will include a performance by the Youth Orchestra under the Music Office on February 23, followed by a Gala Night on February 24, the highlight of which will be a lantern with a dragon dancing across New Year blossoms on water pools. The event will also feature Leisure and Cultural Service Department mascots Enggie Pup and Artti Kitty greeting visitors, performances by the Hubei Provincial Performing Arts Group, and dance displays.
The two carnivals in the New Territories will also have lantern displays from Tuesdays to Sundays, between 6pm and 11pm. The theme for the New Territories East carnival at the Hong Kong Velodrome Park is ‘The Fantasy Playground’, which will be reflected in colourful lantern installations, including dragon babies and carousel lanterns. The New Territories West carnival at Tin Shui Wai Park and Ginza Square will revolve around the theme ‘A Festive Celebration of Love and Joy for the Year of the Dragon’, and will have a carousel lantern adorned with dragons and phoenixes, and other animal lanterns.
Both carnivals in the New Territories will also have Gala Nights on February 24, from 7.30pm-10pm, which will include stage performances and activities that highlight Chinese cultural characteristics, such as dances and performances by the Hubei Provincial Performing Arts Group, dance and singing performances and self-help lantern riddles, a unicorn dance and demonstration, and a pop song performance.
Header image credits: GovHK
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