Chinese New Year 2007 falls in February this year and the celebrations are on the 18th to 19th February. It is celebrated by a large number of Chinese as well as Thais in Thailand because a large number of Chinese lives in Thailand. Chinese culture has a huge influence in Thailand as a big part of the population, about 15%, have Chinese ancestors. Also, every year over 75,000 Chinese people come to visit Thailand during the Chinese New Year festival. Although it is only a two days festival, the country will earn a large amount of money in those two days the festivities will last. About 9 million $US are expected to flow into Bangkok from the source of tourism revenues.

The Chinese New Year Festival will be held along the banks of the Chao Phraya River and Kosi Road in the city centre of Bangkok but the Grand Festival is in the so-called Yaowaraj area of Bangkok, which is Bangkok’s Chinatown. This area is normally hard to access because of traffic jams during the day and it might not be exactly what you would expect from a Chinatown. One of the major attractions of Chinatown on a normal day (or evening in this case) is the excellent seafood available at the many street restaurants. It’s hard to think about a better place to enjoy the man types of fish, crabs and other seafood specialties.

Coming back to the Chinese New Year, Yaowaraj will be closed on the 18th from 12:00 until 12:00 o clock on the 19th. Then again on the 19th, it will be closed from 16:00 until 24:00.
Some of the traditional celebrations that are part of the Chinese New Year every year are for example to pay tribute to the big Golden Dragon. This will be probably the biggest highlight this year, as Bangkok will see the world’s longest Golden Dragon anywhere with a length of 700 meters. The Golden Dragon is said to have guarded the Yaowaraj area for centuries and many people living there believe that it has played a big part in their wealth.

The reason why Chinese people wear red color during the New Year has its reasons: Chinese people see red as a bright and happy color so Chinese wear it to have good fortune in the New Year. Also, a traditional element of the Chinese New Year celebrations are small red envelopes that are give to friends and relatives and include money, wishes and lots of blessings.

Also not to be missed are the fireworks! The sound of firecrackers can be breathtaking. You will be able to see many Chinese and international music shows, traditional dancing and many cultural shows.

Maybe the most important part of the whole festival is the absolutely delicious food that plays such a big part on the New year celebrations. If you want to get a taste of real traditional Chinese cuisine, then Yaowaraj in Bangkok, on the 18th-19th February is the place to be.

It is not too difficult to reach Yaowaraj, especially when you are staying in a hotel in Silom area or in a hotel in the Sathorn area. In Yaowaraj, we suggest you staying at the White Orchid Hotel.

On Silom you have a much wider choice including the Centre Point Silom Hotel, a service apartment, or the Holiday Inn Hotel Silom. Other good choices are the Silom City Inn Hotel and the Triple Two Boutique Hotel Silom.

On Sathorn, the 3-star Homduang Boutique Hotel can be recommended just as well as the luxurious Banyan Tree Hotel.

If you want to be really close you can have a look at our hotel offerings in the Yaowaraj area or in Chinatown. An excellent choice would be the Shanghai Inn Hotel for example that combines luxurious Boutique accommodation with stylish Chinese design elements.
There are numerous other hotel choices available in Chinatown including the Grand China Princess Hotel, the Twin Towers Hotel or the Bangkok Centre Hotel.

No matter where you are staying, we wish you a good trip and happy celebrations!