How to celebrate Chinese New Year in NYC

NYC has one of the largest and diverse Chinese populations im America. Whether you want to catch the annual parade, explore Chinese history or sample some traditional cuisine, there's something going on in the city to fit the bill.

See the parade

Photo: Youtube

New York is famous for its Chinese New Year parade, and for good reason! Head down to Chinatown to catch amazing visuals, food stalls and cultural performances running through the afternoon for the 21st Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade and Festival. The parade will begin at 1pm at Mott Street and Canal Street, moving on to Chatham Square to East Broadway towards the Manhattan Bridge and completing on Eldridge and Forsyth Streets towards Grand Street next to Sara D. Roosevelt Park. It’s free to watch, just remember to get there early if you want a good space.

Try some puppet making

Photo: Vecteezy

Why not try some shadow puppetry at a workshop? Chinese shadow theater is over 2000 years old, consisting traditionally of carved and colored figures manipulated behind a cloth screen to tell stories of history, folk law and much more. Chinese Theatre Works, a non-profit cultural organization aiming to preserve and promote traditional Chinese performance, will teach you the background of this art form and even lead you in designing and building your own shadow figures! The Shadow Theater Workshops take place on February 16 and 23. 

Make traditional dumplings

Have you ever wanted to make traditional Chinese dumplings? Well, here’s your chance to learn. Essex Market vendor Eat Gai will be conducting a hands-on dumpling making workshop to celebrate the new year, focusing on chicken-and-chive dumplings. Chef Mukda and co-owner Pei will explain why we eat dumplings and chicken during Chinese New Year while you make your own version of the dish and get to taste it, too. 

Learn about history at The Golden Spike

Photo: The Golden Spike, Eventbrite

This friday, catch The Golden Spike, an extraordinary play telling the epic love story of Sun Wu and Jiao Zhou, spanning 13 years, from the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad. San Yu, a Chinese railroad worker pursuing equal work rights, falls for a young Chinese laundress, combining to make a love story which is set heavily in this otherwise overlooked period of Chinese American history.

Brush up your herbology 

Photo: Kamwo, Eventbrite

Traditional Chinese medicine is 2,000 years old and still as fascinating and powerful as ever. This workshop on February 7  will take you into the history and science behind Chinese medicine, held in one of the country's most respected herbal dispensaries in Chinatown, Kamwo Meridian Herbs. Kamwo contains over 500 raw herbs, thousands of patent herbal products, and an extensive selection of acupuncture and natural wellness supplies. You can see, touch, smell and learn all about a wide variety of herbs, led by a knowledgeable staff member of Kamwo.