Your Guide to Chinese New Year
Celebrations Across China
你好中国
Nihao China!
As Chinese New Year approaches, the spirit of renewal, reunion, and celebration fills cities and communities across China.
From glowing lantern festivals and lively temple fairs to regional cuisine, cultural performances, and centuries-old traditions, the Spring Festival is the most meaningful and vibrant time to experience China.
To help you plan your journey, the China National Tourist Office in Los Angeles is proud to launch Part 1 of our four-part series: “Your Guide to Chinese New Year Celebrations Across China.” This special series explores where and how Spring Festival is celebrated across the country–offering inspiration, cultural insight, and travel ideas for your 2026 journey.
What We’ll Explore in This Four-Part Series
Your Guide to Chinese Celebrations Across China
An inspiring overview of how Chinese New Year is celebrated nationwide—highlighting iconic destinations and why the Spring Festival is the perfect time to visit China.
Learn the Traditions Before You Experience Them
A deeper look into the meaning behind Chinese New Year customs, symbols, foods, and rituals—so travelers can fully appreciate what they see, taste, and experience.
Where to Celebrate Chinese New Year in China: Top Picks for 2026
Curated destination highlights showcasing where the festivities shine brightest—from historic capitals and modern metropolises to winter wonderlands.
“Pack Your Luck” Chinese New Year Travel Tips
Practical, festive-season travel tips to help visitors prepare—from timing and weather to cultural etiquette and seasonal experiences.
Together, this series serves as your essential companion to celebrating Chinese New Year in China—whether you’re drawn to lantern-lit streets, snowy spectacles, ancient traditions, or modern celebrations with deep cultural roots.
In this first edition, discover iconic destinations where Chinese New Year comes alive:
Beijing
Traditional temple fairs, lantern displays, and imperial-style celebrations
Harbin
The world-famous Ice & Snow Festival
Chengdu
Festive lanterns and winter must-see experiences
Xi’an
Tang-dynasty–style New Year performances
Shanghai
Where modern energy meets timeless tradition
Begin planning your Spring Festival journey at CNTOLosAngeles.com, featuring a dedicated landing page designed to help travelers explore destinations, learn traditions, and prepare for an unforgettable Chinese New Year in China.
Look out for the next editions of this series as we dive deeper into traditions, top celebration picks, and practical travel tips to help you “pack your luck” for the New Year.
Wishing you a joyful, prosperous, and inspiring Year of the Horse.
Warm regards,
Dawei Wu
Director, China National Tourist Office in Los Angeles
Spring Festival Across China: Five Cities, Five Unforgettable Celebrations
Every winter, China ushers in its most important and emotionally rich celebration—the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). More than a holiday, it is a living tapestry of traditions, family reunions, ancient rituals, and spectacular public festivities that unfold across the country.
From imperial temple fairs to ice-lit wonderlands and lantern-filled streets, each city celebrates Spring Festival in its own unforgettable way. Discover five of China’s most iconic destinations for experiencing the Lunar New Year—each offering travelers a front-row seat to centuries-old traditions brought vividly to life.
Beijing
Spring Festival at the Heart of China’s Imperial Past
✨ Why Beijing for Spring Festival
Celebrate the Lunar New Year where emperors once welcomed the seasons. Beijing’s Spring Festival is defined by grand temple fairs, traditional performances, and time-honored rituals set against iconic imperial backdrops.
🎯 Don’t Miss
- Historic temple fairs filled with folk art, music, and local snacks
- Red lantern displays in parks and heritage districts
- Traditional dumpling feasts symbolizing reunion and prosperity
Harbin
A Magical New Year in Ice and Snow
✨ Why Harbin for Spring Festival
Harbin offers one of the world’s most visually spectacular New Year celebrations. During Spring Festival, the city transforms into a glowing winter wonderland of ice palaces, sculptures, and illuminated streets.
🎯 Don’t Miss
- Monumental ice and snow sculptures lit after dark
- Ice lantern exhibitions and winter folk performances
- Snowy riverfronts and festive northern cuisine
Chengdu
Lanterns, Leisure, and Sichuan Warmth
✨ Why Chengdu for Spring Festival
Chengdu’s Spring Festival is relaxed, joyful, and deeply local. Lantern festivals, teahouse gatherings, and flavorful cuisine define a celebration that feels both festive and warmly personal.
🎯 Don’t Miss
- Colorful lantern displays in parks and historic streets
- Sichuan opera performances, including face-changing showsv
- New Year hotpot feasts and street food adventures
Xi’an
A Tang Dynasty New Year Experience
✨ Why Xi’an for Spring Festival
Few places capture the historical grandeur of Spring Festival like Xi’an. New Year celebrations here revive Tang Dynasty traditions through ceremonial performances, lanterns, and ancient pageantry.
🎯 Don’t Miss
- Tang-style New Year shows and costume performances
- Lantern-lit ancient city walls
- Festive markets in the historic Muslim Quarter
Shanghai
Where Tradition Meets Modern Celebration
✨ Why Shanghai for Spring Festival
Shanghai blends timeless New Year customs with contemporary city energy. Traditional lanterns glow beside modern skylines, while temples, gardens, and cultural districts host festive events throughout the season.
🎯 Don’t Miss
- Lantern displays in classical gardens and historic neighborhoods
- Temple visits for New Year blessings and incense rituals
- Riverfront views and cultural performances along the Bund
Learn the Traditions Before You
Experience Them in China
你好中国
Nihao China!
Chinese New Year is more than a celebration—it is a living tapestry, woven with centuries of memory, meaning, and hope. Each custom is a thread connecting past and present, family and fortune, earth and sky.
Part 2 of our four-part Spring Festival series invites you to step beyond the surface of the celebration and discover the stories behind China’s most cherished traditions—so that when you experience them in China, you feel their heartbeat, not just their beauty.
The reunion dinner gathers generations around one table, where laughter and longing mingle with the aroma of home. Red envelopes pass from hand to hand, carrying blessings wrapped in crimson joy. Lanterns rise into the night like glowing wishes, while temple visits offer quiet moments of reflection, gratitude, and renewal.
Across cities and villages, dragon dances thunder through the streets, drums echoing prayers for strength, harmony, and prosperity in the year ahead.
These rituals are not performances—they are living expressions of hope, resilience, and togetherness, renewed each Spring Festival with reverence and joy.
As you plan your journey, consider itineraries that leave room for these moments: unhurried walks through lantern-lit streets, encounters with local celebrations, and seasonal experiences that reveal China at its most heartfelt and alive.
Explore the traditions. Feel their meaning. Plan your Spring Festival journey now.
Warmest wishes,
Dawei Wu
Director, China National Tourist Office in Los Angeles
Chinese New Year Traditions: A Traveler’s Guide
Reunion Dinner
团圆饭Families reunite on New Year’s Eve for the most important meal of the year—symbolizing unity, abundance, and fresh beginnings.
Travel inspiration
- Beijing: Experience traditional home-style dishes and festive restaurant banquets.
- Xi’an: Discover northern-style dumplings and wheat-based specialties.
Red Envelopes
红包Red envelopes are exchanged to share blessings of luck, health, and prosperity—an enduring symbol of goodwill.
Travel inspiration
- Beijing: See centuries-old customs blend with modern digital traditions.
- Chengdu: A warm, family-focused way to experience local New Year hospitality.
Spring Couplets & Decorations
春联Red couplets, lanterns, and paper cuttings transform streets and homes with messages of hope and renewal.
Travel inspiration
- Xi’an: Historic city walls framed by lantern-lit streets.
- Beijing: Hutongs adorned with poetic New Year blessings.
Fireworks & Firecrackers
烟花爆竹Fireworks mark the farewell to the old year and welcome new beginnings with energy and excitement.
Travel Inspiration
- Harbin: Winter skies illuminated during icy festival nights.
- Chengdu: Festive atmospheres paired with local New Year celebrations.
Temple Visits & New Year Blessings
祈福拜年Temple visits offer a quieter, reflective side of the Spring Festival—prayers for health, harmony, and success.
Travel Inspiration
- Beijing: Iconic temples filled with incense and New Year wishes.
- Xi’an: Historic temples rooted in ancient dynasties.
Lion & Dragon Dances
舞狮舞龙Lively lion and dragon dances fill streets and squares with rhythm, color, and symbolism.
Travel Inspiration
- Chengdu: Community-centered performances with local flair.
- Beijing: Grand displays in cultural districts.
Lantern Festival Finale
元宵节The celebrations conclude with glowing lanterns and sweet rice dumplings symbolizing reunion and completeness.
Travel Inspiration
- Harbin: Lanterns shimmer against snowy landscapes.
- Beijing: Evening walks beneath illuminated skies.
Chinese New Year in China
Beyond the Classics
你好中国
Nihao China!
As winter turns toward renewal, China awakens in a cascade of color, ritual, and joy. Chinese New Year—also known as Spring Festival—is the country’s most meaningful and mesmerizing season, when ancient traditions come alive in lantern-lit streets, families gather beneath fireworks, and entire cities pulse with hope for the year ahead. From grand temple fairs to intimate hometown customs, traveling through China at this time offers more than a celebration—it’s an invitation to witness the soul of the nation, where heritage, hospitality, and heartfelt wishes for prosperity unfold everywhere you go.
Chinese New Year is celebrated across China, but some of the most memorable Spring Festival experiences happen beyond the well‑known cities. From historic port towns and martial‑arts strongholds to flower‑filled spring cities and ethnic minority regions, these destinations reveal the depth, diversity, and local spirit of the Lunar New Year.
Go beyond the classics this Chinese New Year with unforgettable Spring Festival experiences across China. Discover lion dances in Foshan, ancestral rituals in Quanzhou, early spring blooms in Kunming, cultural fusion in Inner Mongolia, ceremonial traditions in Chaozhou, and poetic celebrations in Lijiang. Together, these destinations offer travelers a richer, more immersive way to celebrate the Year ahead.
This Chinese New Year, journey to China not just to see the celebrations—but to feel the renewal, share in the joy, and begin your own year with meaning, wonder, and unforgettable memories.
Warmest regards,
Dawei Wu
Director, China National Tourist Office in Los Angeles
Beyond the Classics: China’s Most Fascinating Chinese New Year Celebrations
There is no moment quite like Chinese New Year in China—a time when the nation seems to collectively pause, inhale, and then burst into color, sound, and shared joy. As winter gives way to the promise of spring, cities and villages alike glow with lantern light, drums echo through ancient streets, and the air carries the scent of incense, fireworks, and home-cooked feasts prepared for reunion.
Traveling through China during Spring Festival is not simply a trip; it is an invitation into living tradition. Families gather across generations, doors are dressed in red couplets of hope and renewal, and temples fill with quiet wishes for health, prosperity, and good fortune. By day, markets hum with activity and festive rituals unfold; by night, skylines shimmer as fireworks trace new beginnings across the sky.
For visitors, Chinese New Year offers a rare chance to see China at its most heartfelt and human—where centuries-old customs are not staged, but lived. Whether you find yourself amid grand celebrations or intimate neighborhood gatherings, you’ll feel the same universal spirit: a belief that the year ahead can be brighter, kinder, and filled with possibility. To experience China during Chinese New Year is to step into a story of renewal—and to carry a little of that hope home with you.
Quanzhou
Fujian Province
Once one of the world’s most important maritime ports, Quanzhou celebrates Chinese New Year with living traditions passed down for centuries. Expect temple fairs, ancestral worship rituals, Nanyin classical music, and vibrant lantern displays reflecting its multicultural heritage.
Foshan
Guangdong Province
Foshan comes alive during Spring Festival with powerful lion dances, martial arts performances, drum parades, and fireworks, showcasing the city’s deep kung fu heritage.
Kunming
Yunnan Province
With its mild climate and early spring blooms, Kunming offers colorful flower markets and diverse ethnic minority New Year celebrations in a relaxed setting.
Hohhot
Inner Mongolia
Chinese New Year in Hohhot blends Han traditions with Mongolian culture, featuring wrestling, music, winter festivities, and hearty northern cuisine.
Chaozhou
Guangdong Province
Renowned for ceremonial traditions, Chaozhou’s New Year includes ancestral rituals, opera performances, temple fairs, and elaborate festive banquets.
Lijiang
Yunnan Province
In Lijiang Old Town, Spring Festival is intimate and poetic, with Naxi music, lantern-lit canals, bonfire gatherings, and a serene mountain backdrop.
Pack Your Luck
Chinese New Year Travel Tips
你好中国
Nihao China!
With Chinese New Year just around the corner, it’s time to prepare for one of the most exciting journeys of the year.
Part 4 of our Spring Festival series shares essential travel tips to help you navigate holiday travel periods, cultural etiquette, and seasonal experiences.
Thoughtful planning—flights, accommodations, and festival timing—ensures a smooth and rewarding Spring Festival journey.
As midnight approaches and the first sparks of the New Year light the sky, China transforms into a living tapestry of memory and hope. Lanterns sway like whispered wishes, incense curls toward the heavens, and generations gather to welcome a fresh beginning together. To celebrate Chinese New Year in China is to step inside a story—one written in reunion dinners, temple bells, winter fireworks, and the quiet promise of good fortune ahead.
As this four-part series comes to a close, may it open a door for your own Spring Festival journey. Come greet the New Year where tradition breathes, where every street glows with meaning, and where the turning of the calendar is not just observed, but deeply felt. May your travels be guided by joy, curiosity, and luck—this New Year and beyond.
Warmest regards,
Dawei Wu
Director, China National Tourist Office in Los Angeles
Pack Your Luck: Practical Chinese New Year Travel Tips
Chinese New Year is not simply a date on the calendar—it is a feeling that travels through cities, homes, and hearts. Streets glow in red. Train stations hum with reunions decades in the making. Firecrackers echo wishes for health, prosperity, and safe journeys ahead.
To travel during Spring Festival is to step into a living tradition. A little cultural awareness doesn’t just smooth the journey — it opens doors, invites smiles, and turns small moments into meaningful connections.
The color in the streets, the hum of reunion dinners, the warmth of small gestures exchanged between strangers. Traveling during Spring Festival is deeply rewarding, but a little cultural know-how goes a long way. Here’s a practical, people-first guide to help you travel confidently, respectfully, and with luck on your side.
What to Wear: Comfort Meets Culture
You don’t need a full festive wardrobe—just a thoughtful touch.
- Red is always right. A scarf, sweater, or accessory in red symbolizes happiness, good fortune, and protection from bad luck. Even locals keep it simple.
- Layer smartly. Northern China can be biting cold, while the south is milder but damp. Think thermal layers, comfortable walking shoes, and a warm outer coat.
- Dress modestly at temples and family homes. Covered shoulders and neat attire show respect, especially during holiday visits.
Gifts That Travel Well (and What to Avoid)
Visiting friends or extended family during New Year? A small gift speaks volumes.
Good choices:
- Fruit (especially oranges or tangerines—symbols of wealth)
- Sweets or chocolates
- Tea, pastries, or local specialties from your home city
Avoid these items:
- Sharp objects (symbolize severing relationships)
- Clocks or watches (associated with funerals)
- White or black wrapping (linked to mourning)
Red Envelopes (Yes, Even for Visitors)
You may see—or receive—red envelopes (hongbao) filled with money.
- If you’re giving one, use crisp bills, never coins.
- Even numbers are preferred (except 4).
- You don’t need to give large amounts—the gesture matters more than the sum.
Dining & Social Etiquette: Small Gestures, Big Respect
Spring Festival is all about reunion.
- Expect shared dishes—try a bit of everything.
- Toasts are common; you can sip instead of finishing your glass.
- Complimenting the food is always welcome.
Travel Timing: Plan With Patience
Chinese New Year is the world’s largest annual migration.
- Book flights and high-speed trains early.
- Travel a few days before Chinese New Year’s Eve or after the first few days if you want smoother journeys.
- Major attractions may close briefly—street celebrations and lantern displays often steal the show instead.
A Final Thought
Chinese New Year travel isn’t about getting everything “right.” It’s about showing care—through color, courtesy, and curiosity.
- Wear a little red
- Bring a thoughtful gift
- Avoid the sharp edges
- Let the season’s warmth guide you
