On Saturday, 28 January 2017 the centre of The Hague will come alive with the excitement, sounds of fireworks and bold colours of the Chinese New Year Festival. 

To kick off the Year of the Rooster, 2 large-scale celebrations of the Chinese New Year will take place in The Hague: the national celebrations in and around The Hague City Hall and the local celebrations in The Hague's Chinatown neighbourhood.

All the festivities in The Hague are free of charge and open to the public.

Kick-off on Spuiplein

The festivities begin at 11.30 hrs. with a traditional Chinese opening ceremony with fireworks on the Spuiplein in the presence of the mayor of The Hague and the Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands.

The colourful cast of characters including Chinese lions and dragons will then make their way to Chinatown accompanied by the sounds of energetic drumming and exploding firecrackers. There they will usher in the New Year and chase away the spirits of the past year.

There will also be a big Chinese New Year’s market and presentations will be given on Chinese culture and travel in China in the JoHo center (Paviljoensgracht 18).

Grand spectacle in City Hall

The Dutch national celebrations of the Chinese New Year will begin at 12.30 hrs. in The Hague City Hall and promises to be a grand spectacle. The afternoon will be filled with Chinese dance, music, acrobatics and exhibitions of different forms of martial arts. This year 2 famous ensembles will travel from China to The Hague: the Jiangsu Art Troupe Folk Music Band and the Shaanxi 'Hejiaying' Drum Music Group.

There will also be a small Asian market in the Atrium and a variety of cultural activities on offer. The afternoon will conclude with a fashion show by Addy van den Krommenacker and a Miss Impress contest starting at 15.30 hrs. The programme concludes with a dragon dance and fireworks on the Spuiplein at 18.00 hrs.

More info

The 2017 Chinese New Year will be organised by the Municipality of The Hague, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Netherlands, businesses in Chinatown and other representatives of the Chinese community in the Netherlands including the Chinese Cultural Events Foundation  and the Chinese New Year Festival Foundation.

More information about the day’s events can be found at www.chineesnieuwjaar-denhaag.nl and www.chineesnieuwjaarfestival.nl.

Source: https://www.denhaag.nl/en/residents/news-and-events/to/Chinese-New-Year-Festival.htm