Crowds descended upon Manchester’s Albert Square and Chinatown to be a part of the Chinese New Year celebrations this weekend.
One of the main attractions of the festivities, the annual Dragon Parade, used Albert Square as its starting point before snaking its way through the city centre streets.
The spectacular 175-foot-long dragon wowed both local and international tourists.
ENTER THE DRAGON: 175ft long dragon amazed the Manchester crowds
Manchester resident Chao-xing Liu, 27, told MM: “I am so happy to see Manchester hosting this event every year. As a Chinese person, the New Year is very important to me and I really enjoy joining the celebrations year after year.
“It was a great pleasure to be a part of this year’s festivities – a full weekend dedicated to Chinese people.
“I particularly enjoyed the Dragon Parade. I couldn’t believe how long the dragon was – it was amazing!”
IN HIGH SPIRITS: Parade participants enjoy the festivities
This year’s celebrations were kicked off last Thursday with a stunning display of light and fire as animation and art intertwined.
St Ann’s Church was illuminated with colour, floating lanterns and inconic Chinese dragons – a range of works by artist Cai Guo-Qiang and illustrator Stanley Chow – to signal the start of the Year of the Ram.
Crowds were also treated to a glimpse of the Hong Kong Pulse 3D Light Show, a visual narrative of the history and culture of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour – a former British colony.
Stanley, 41, was also commissioned to design the symbol seen all around the city of this new Lunar year – the ram.
YEAR OF THE RAM: Colour and costume decorated the a very rainy Albert Square
The former New Yorker told MM that he wanted to create something outstanding when he was asked to design this year’s symbol.
He said: “Especially after seen recent years designs which were basically stock photography I wanted to create something extraordinary and something I could be proud of when I saw it.
“I’m Chinese myself, so when I got offered this job, I was like ‘YES’! As a Chinese Mancunian it is an honour for me to take part in this event.
“Now when I’m walking down a street in the city centre I see my designs and they make me skip a step when I’m walking.”
FIRECE AND READY: The new year dragon eyes up its audience
The Year of the Ram is also frequently referred to as ‘The Year of the Goat’ or ‘The Year of the Sheep’ due to varying interpretations of the Chinese character Yang, which signifies any of the three animals.
But for Stanley the Year of the Ram holds a special place in his heart.
He said: “My mum was born in the Year of the Ram and me and my mum are really close so for that reason this year has a special meaning.
“Being asked to create the design for the year of my mum’s birth was a great coincidence and honour, which made me extremely happy.”
UNTILL NEXT YEAR: Mancunians soak up the traditional fun
