8 Top Things To Do During Chinese New Year In China (2026)
The Chinese New Year (also called Spring Festival) is the big festival of the year for Chinese people!
You may have attended Chinatown celebrations in your home country before. But nothing comes close when it comes to celebrations in China.
Here’s 8 of my recommended things to do if you’re visiting China during Spring Festival.
1. Browsing and buying Chinese New Year decorations 🧧
Details:
Starting around 2 weeks before New Year, residents and businesses will begin to put up fanciful decorations for Spring Festival.
Most decorations are universal every year, but some are zodiac specific. This year is the year of the horse! I certainly saw a lot of horse themed decorations and horse replicas.
Look out for red chunlian 春联 (also called couplets), lanterns, scrolls, ornaments, vertical scrolls, knots!
If you really want to buy some as a souvenir, you can get them at the local markets and pop-up stores in the days leading up to the New Year.
Buy stuff with the character 福 for extra good luck!
2. Watch fireworks 烟花, firecrackers 鞭炮, or iron flower 打铁花 🧨
Details:
Fireworks usually kick off in the evening preceding the Spring Festival. In my community, I could hear fireworks for a full 2 weeks every single evening!
Firecrackers are usually lit during the first few days, but you may occasionally see them on other days. It lasts a minute or so, but the atmosphere is amazing!
Iron flower sparks are my new fascination. There is something very alluring about molten iron sparks setting the atmosphere alight.
For fireworks, you’ll normally find them in your local neighbourhood or at a designated local park.
For iron flower and huge firework displays, ask your hotel reception for major events nearby.🎆
3. Visiting lantern festival displays 灯笼/灯会 at the city’s main parks 🏮
Details:
The lantern displays are unbelievable and create a fantastic atmosphere. There are both large scale and small scale displays.
The biggest displays are normally in the city’s major parks, but you should check with hotel reception.
Each park has different lanterns. Some of them are massive! Don’t forget to go at night!
4. Attending local celebratory events featuring lion dances, dragon dances, parades, and street performances 🐉
Details:
The city’s main pedestrian street is a good bet (for example: Wangfujing in Beijing, Nanjing Road in Shanghai). Check with hotel reception first.
You’ll have the biggest chance of seeing festive events like this during the first day of Spring Festival.
Lion dance = 舞狮
Dragon dance = 舞龙
5. Having an enormous Chinese New Year feast on the evening before Spring Festival 🥢
Details:
Some restaurants will have set banquets for the Spring Festival. You can check them out or choose your own dishes.
Don’t forget to eat jiaozi 饺子 and steamed fish 魚 for prosperity!
Don’t restrict yourself to New Year’s Eve. Feast yourself for the whole week!🤤
👇🏻 Check out my articles
25 National Dishes of China For First Time Tourists - According To Me!
How to Order Food and Drink in China? A Mini-Guide with Key Phrases’
How to Find Great Restaurants in China - A Simplified Guide to Dianping and RedNote
6. Checking out the night markets + eat lots and lots of festive snacks and fruit 🍊
Details:
I recommend tangyuan 汤圆 and niangao 年糕.
For sweets, I recommend Lai See candy 利是糖 and White Rabbit candy 大白兔奶糖 (buy them in snack stores).
Don’t forget to eat tangerines or oranges for good luck!
7. Greeting people with Xin Nian Kuai Le (Happy New Year) and Shen Ti Jian Kang (Good Health) 👦🏻
If you want to practise your Chinese, this is your chance! I’m sure a lot of people will be impressed!
There’s many more, if you’re keen on leveling up!
8. Wearing red clothing 🔴
Red is the symbol of luck, prosperity, and happiness in China. This is the time of year to wear red! Some people buy new clothing just for this!
This list is targeted at tourists visiting China. There are some traditional items like hongbao, which have been excluded.
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