China has many festivals and celebrations throughout the year. The biggest and most important of these is Chinese New Year. The date of the Chinese New Year is based on the traditional lunar/solar calendar and changes each year, but it always falls between January 21 and February 19. Each new year is symbolised by one of 12 animals—the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog or boar.

 

The New Year festival lasts two weeks and is a vibrant, colourful celebration. Houses and streets are decorated with flowers, banners and bright lanterns. Families gather to feast on dumplings and seafood. Fireworks are set off to scare away evil spirits. Some of the most spectacular events of Chinese New Year are the dragon and lion dances. Huge colourful dragons and lions are made of paper and brought to life by dancers performing to drums.

Did you know …

- China has the largest population in the world and is home to over one-fifth of the world’s people.

- China is the third largest country in the world. Only Russia and Canada are bigger.

- The Chinese call China Zhongguo, which means ‘Central Country’ or ‘Middle Kingdom’.

- The capital of China is Beijing.

- There are over 45,000 characters in the Chinese language.