Chinese New Year always interests me greatly. I love learning about traditions.
We decided to trek to China Town, located in Haymarket Sydney. The area had such exciting, happy energy. We couldn’t wait to see what was on offer.
Lion Dance
Starting in the heart of China Town we headed to Dixon St, to view the Lion Dance. It was a struggle to get into the area itself. Eventually, we made it through. There were a number of food and market stalls scattered down the street. Nearing the start of the Lion Dance we found a small area out of the way. This was a relief to not have to fight the crowd anymore.
BANG! The dance started. Followed by firecrackers at about the same time. Sadly this part of the night was quite disappointing. We did not get to see any of the lion dance because the area where the dance was held was so tightly packed that only those very close to the Lion would have any chance to see the performance. In addition, the timing of the firecrackers was quite strange, leaving people unsure of what event they wished to view. It would have made more sense for the firecrackers to be set off before the Lion Dance to give people a chance to view both. Eventually, the Lion made it was down the street through the crowd. For next year I will try to pick a different location, hopefully, it won’t be so crowded.
Following the Lion dance, we moved onto dinner and bubble tea!
Art Displays, Red Buildings and Fireworks
A short train trip from Central to Circular Quay lead us to the rocks area. The 12 Zodiac had been beautifully displayed around the area. The art displays reminded me slightly of Vivid, held in May each year. The stories of each artist were fascinating and it taught me quite a bit about each Zodiac Animal. Halfway through view the animals we stopped to view the fireworks display.
The fireworks were excellent. Behind the gorgeous background of the Red Opera House, splashes of colour filled the night sky. I was surprised to see that not many people were there to watch them. This aspect of the night definitely needs to be advertised a lot more as it was hard to find the details.
Overall the night was fantastic. I highly recommend checking out the art displays and the other events over the 13 days!
The Nail Chronicle