Chinese New Year in Rome

on 17. November 2023   /   0   /  

Tips & information about the Chinese New Year in Rome. Although the Chinese New Year is not an official holiday in Rome, the festival is celebrated extensively in the Roman capital. You can learn more about the festivities and events for the Chinese New Year in Rome in this article.

Chinese New Year in Rome: Between colourful lanterns and Chinese opera

You probably ask yourselves what the Chinese New Year has to do with Rome. Percentage wise, the Chinese population of Rome is not very large. Only about 5% of the Roman population has an Asian background. The Chinese community in Rome is very active and Rome is a popular holiday destination for many wealthy tourists from China.

Chinese New Year in Rome

In Chinese culture, the New Year is not celebrated on January 1, but follows the Lunisolar calendar, meaning that the Chinese New Year is celebrated between January 21 and February 21. In 2024, the Chinese New Year falls on February,10th and the year of the dragon begins. The New Year is an important holiday in Asian culture. Not only in China is the New Year celebrated with parades and family reunions, but also in other Asian countries, the New Year is one of the most important holidays of the year.

For the Chinese New Year, Roman streets are decorated with colourful lanterns and many Asian restaurants offer special menus.

Chinese New Year in Rome: Where to celebrate?

As in almost every capital, there also is a Chinatown in Rome. The Chinatown of Rome is located on the south side of Termini Central Station, around Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II.

  • Although many Chinese have become wealthy and moved away from the area, the center of the Chinese New Year celebrations is still on Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II.

  • Another hotspot of the Chinese New Year celebrations is the upscale shopping street Via dei Condotti. Here, the Chinese tourists like to cover themselves with Italian gems such as Armani and Gucci. At the same time this year the Peking Opera in Rome will be performing with the Opera Turandot under Chinese-Italian direction.

The Chinese New Year festival attracts many visitors every year. Both the Romans and the tourists like to see the colorfully decorated streets and the traditional dragon parade. As the Chinese New Year festival takes place in the city center of Rome, it can get crowded in the streets. At the famous Roman sights and museums this can lead to longer waiting times as well. Many visitors associate the festivities in Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, where the main event takes place, with a visit to the Colosseum, as this is not far from the piazza. To avoid long waiting times, it is worth reserving the tickets for the Colosseum in advance.

Chinese New Year in Rome: “Turandot”

In 2020 the Chinese New Year was celebrated with the magnificient opera Turandot. Turandot is an opera by the Italian composer Puccini, which is about an oriental princess who beheads every suitor, who can not solve her riddles. (© photo: teatrodiroma.net)

Turandot-Opera-Rome

The theater is located directly on Largo di Torre Argentina, the place where Julius Caesar was murdered. To ridicule the place, Emperor Augustus built the largest public toilet of Rome here.

Chinese New Year in Rome: Via dei Condotti

In February the luxury shopping street Via dei Condotti will be all about the Chinese New Year in Rome. There are decorations in the street and a joint exhibition inside the shops. All boutiques are participating and you will find art works of the Chinese all-round talent Liu Bolin. He is not only known and loved in China, but also in Europe, with exhibitions and performances, including in London and Venice.

Via-dei-Condotti-Rome

My recommendation? Get into the action! Check out the best Italian designer goods and do not miss the exciting performance of artist Liu Bolin! The whole thing takes place in the Via dei Condotti and some luxury hotels in the area. Via dei Condotti is between Via del Corso and Piazza di Spagna. The nearest metro station is called Spagna and is located on line A.

Chinese New Year in Rome: Piazza Vittorio Emanuele

Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II is the Roman square where the Chinese community has celebrated its New Year for many years. You enter a different world here and experience a typical Chinese New Year.

See how works of art are being created, marvel at pictures and calligraphies and at the same time try specialties of Chinese cuisine. The festival comes with demonstrations of various martial arts, a choir and a dragon parade.

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