Watch: Colourful parade in Expo City Dubai kicks off celebrations for Chinese New Year

Watch: Colourful parade in Expo City Dubai kicks off celebrations for Chinese New Year

Dubai: Expo City Dubai was transformed into a sea of red and bright colours on Saturday as marching bands, lion and dragon dance performers, and thousands of people participated in a 2km-long parade that signalled the start of Chinese New Year celebrations. According to the Chinese Consulate in Dubai, the ‘Happy Chinese New Year Grand Parade’ was “the largest Chinese New Year event outside of China”, following a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The parade was attended by Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Chief Executive of Expo City Authority; Gao Zheng, director general of Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China; Mohammed Saeed Al Marzouki, acting CEO of Hala China; and Manal AlBayat, Chief, Engagement, Expo 2020 Dubai. The date of the Chinese New Year, that celebrates the beginning of a new year based on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar, varies every year. This year, as per the Gregorian calendar, it falls on January 22. The ‘Happy Chinese New Year Grand Parade’ on Saturday, according to Chinese Ambassador Zhang Yiming, is the “Little New Year according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, signalling that Spring Festival or Chinese New Year