(Images, credit: David Sejrup)
Chester celebrated Lunar New Year last weekend, with organisers hailing the festivities as their biggest parade to date.
The event is organised annually by the Wah Lei Chinese Association and takes place on Eastgate Street.
It included performances of traditional music, cultural characters, lions and dragon dancing as well as non-combustible firecrackers.
Following the colourful lions and dragon dance along Northgate Street to Town Hall Square, tutors from Wah Lei Mandarin school – based at the University of Chester – ran workshops inside the town hall and a celebration banquet took place at Panda Mami Restaurant in Newgate Street.
Mia Tan, chair and founder of the Wah Lei Chinese Association said volunteers had worked for several month to produce the spectacle.
“This festival celebrates the commitment and hard work of everyone and has helped Wah Lei to deliver Mandarin language classes at the University of Chester since 2009,” she said.
Year of the snake
Lord mayor Cllr Razia Daniels added: “It has been a huge honour and a privilege to see Chester come together in such a vibrant and joyous celebration of the Lunar New Year.
“The city’s rich cultural diversity was on full display, with spectacular performances, traditional festivities, and a wonderful community spirit.
“Events like these strengthen our shared understanding and connections.”
The Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year, is the most important celebration in the Chinese zodiac calendar and follows a 12-year cycle.
Chinese legend states that The Emperor of Heaven asked all the animals to meet him on New Year’s Day and named a year after each of the twelve animals that came.
This year is a year of the snake, the sixth animal in the cycle – it symbolises wisdom, intuition, and transformation.
People born in a year of the snake (1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013 and 2025) are said to be resourceful, insightful, and graceful problem-solvers, embodying the power of adaptability and growth.
Famous figures born in a year of the snake include Taylor Swift, JK Rowling, Audrey Hepburn, Bob Dylan, Stephen Hawking, Pablo Picasso and John F Kennedy.
Follow So Cheshire on Facebook, Threads and Instagram. You can also email cheshire@so-counties.co.uk with your story ideas or to enquire about advertising opportunities.
