Chinese New Year 2017: London celebrations through the years
As the year of the rooster dawns, London is pulling out all the stops to celebrate the arrival of another Chinese New Year.
The celebrations start on Saturday January 28 and will run for around two weeks in varying forms, ending on February 2.
The celebrations are nothing new. For decades London has hosted some of the globe’s biggest Chinese New Year celebrations outside China itself.
Browse our gallery above to see some choice shots of the revelry through the years, dating from 1974 to present.
Chinese Near Year is the most important date in the Chinese calendar. It is based on the ancient Chinese lunar calendar and falls on the second new moon after winter solstice, which is why the exact date changes every year.
Also see: The best regional Chinese food in London
This year is the year of the tenth Chinese zodiac, the rooster — also recognised in 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993 and 2005.
But this is not just any year of the rooster, this is the year of the fire rooster. People born in 1957 or 2017 are fire roosters, and are thought to be talkative, popular in a crowd and loyal, with a strong sense of timekeeping.
Also see: Things to do in London this weekend
Their lucky colours are gold, brown and yellow but they should avoid the colour red.
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