London, Feb. 13 (Xinyi) Recently, the 2024 Jiachen Year of the Dragon New Year Celebration in London, England, was held in Trafalgar Square, Chinatown and other landmarks in central London, attracting more than 700,000 overseas Chinese in the UK, local people in the UK and tourists from all over the world.
On the morning of 11 February, the dragon and lion dances and floats parade through central London, starting from Channing Court Crossroads, passing Shakespeare Avenue and ending at Piccadilly Circle near Chinatown.
Before the start of the event at 10 a.m., it was still raining lightly in London, and the British people who had come to visit had already gathered on both sides of the road, stretching along the nearly one-kilometer parade route.
British Chinese community teams such as the British Zhongzheng Dragon and Lion Troupe, the British Medway Dragon and Lion Troupe, and the Chinese performance teams such as the Guangdong Puningying Song and Dance Performance Team from afar interacted with the people along the road, attracting cheers. Showers of drums and dancing add to the festive and joyful atmosphere of the new year.
From noon to evening of the same day, the New Year celebration of "Cultural China, Spring in the Four Seas" was held in Trafalgar Square. After the guests delivered New Year's speeches and woke up the lion, the nearly 5-hour art show kicked off.
In front of the people standing in the square, the plum blossom pile lion dance of the Chen brothers in Guangdong and the dragon and lion of Panzhihua in Sichuan took the stage before and after, sending New Year's wishes of "Dragon Horse Spirit" and "Wishing you prosperity".
Subsequently, performers such as Guangdong Puningying Song and Dance, Sihai Tongchun Art Troupe, "Dragon Dance New Year" Happy Spring Festival Art Troupe, Lang Lang International Youth Association, "Cultural China" Water Cube Cup winners and British local artists presented Peking Opera, martial arts, acrobatics, ancient magic, folk music, dance and other cultural performances. After nightfall, Tonglianglong from Chongqing also made a finale appearance.
At the same time on the same day, the area around Trafalgar Square and the main streets of Chinatown are filled with a variety of food and New Year stalls, as well as world intangible cultural heritage experiences, parent-child games and other activities.
Zheng Zeguang, Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom, delivered a speech in Chinese and English at the performance, thanking the London Chinatown Chamber of Commerce for organizing this grand event to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Dragon, thanking the artists from Beijing, Guangdong and other places for bringing wonderful Chinese cultural and artistic programs, and extending New Year greetings to the vast number of overseas Chinese, Chinese students, personnel of Chinese-funded institutions and friends from all walks of life in the UK.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan also said: "With the arrival of the Year of the Dragon celebrations, the streets of Trafalgar Square and Chinatown will come alive. I want to say thank you to the Chinese London community for being an integral part of the city we love, driving business, contributing to arts and culture, and helping London become a better city for everyone. ”
King Charles III and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also sent congratulatory letters to the event.
The Chinese New Year celebration was hosted by the London Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Since 2002, the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce in London has held an annual celebration in Trafalgar Square near Chinatown. Over the years, the event has become the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside of Asia.