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Chinese New Year Activities in Beijing in 2023

Chinese New Year Activities in Beijing in 2023

Written by Fercility JiangUpdated Jan. 18, 2024

The Chinese New Year, also called the Spring Festival or Chunjie, is the biggest holiday of the year in Beijing. It is a prime time to visit and experience the local culture.

Chinese new year reunion dinnerChinese new year reunion dinner

Beijingers traditionally have a Chinese New Year's Eve meal and perform temple ceremonies as well as specific traditions, but nowdays they also celebrate at the Great Wall, bars, and at special modern entertainment festivals.

In 2023, the Chinese New Year runs from January 22 through to January 27, with most people returning to work on February 18 or 19. It is the year of the dog, which means you will be seeing a lot of dogs depicted around if you do decide to visit.

This article gives you some insight into what Beijingers do for the festival, travel information, and places you can celebrate Chinese New Year in Beijing. Traditionally, it is the one time a year when everyone goes home to see their family.

Chinese New Year Eve at Home (January 22, 2023)

Most Beijing residents will try to be home on Chinese New Year's Eve. They especially want to make the traditional New Year's Eve family dinner. If you have Chinese friends (or family) you might be lucky enough to be invited to a reunion dinner.

Decorations and Traditions

FireworksFireworks at Chinese New Year

On that day, people clean the house and don their finest outfits in the spirit of the New Year. People put up red decorations and even red clothes. The red decorations symbolize wishes for good fortune, prosperity, and well being in the coming year. Red clothes not only signify power, happiness, and vitality, it also is said to scare away the ghosts.

People often paste red couplets that are slogans or poems and pictures of door gods (to guard their doors from evil spirits), and they hang red lanterns in their houses. In North China, it is also customary to paste paper cuts in the shapes of animals and plants on windows. Each kind of animal or plant signifies a special wish.

On the evening of New Year's Eve, families tune in to watch the Spring Festival Gala on CCTV. With over 700 million viewers yearly, it boasts the largest audience of any TV show in the world. The best musicians, dancers, and acrobats perform on stage.

Fireworks

After the dinner feast, people go out to play with fireworks and watch the fireworks display over the capital that is unmatched by any western celebration. It's amazing to watch, so make sure you get up high to watch.

The noise is thought to scare away evil spirits, which explains why the fireworks in China are preferred to be loud rather than beautiful like the fireworks common in the west. You'll probably experience no other fireworks display like it on earth!

After the fireworks, it is traditional in Beijing and other northern cities to eat dumplings, called jiaozi, to signify prosperity.

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Chinese New Year Day (January 21, 2023) and Afterwards

HongbaoHongbao

As the week goes on, Chinese people visit relatives and friends, starting with the closest and moving on to more distant relatives and friends. It is customary to bring gifts in the form of food, sweets, alcohol, or hongbao (red envelopes with money).

Meanwhile, both young and old continue to set off their fireworks and light rockets. These will continue to explode over the buildings for the 15 days of the Spring Festival (so be careful if you happen to be walking around on the street!). People also go out to the temple fairs. They are places to go to taste the local flavor in the way of food, art, music, games, and people.

Spring Festival Temple Fairs

Many people go to a local temple's temple fair during the Spring Festival. Temple fairs refer to gatherings near temples, where activities such as ritual praying, entertainment and shopping take place.

The History of Beijing Temple Fairs

Temple fair at temple of the earth, BeijingSouvenirs at a Beijing temple fair

Temple fairs were originally related to religious activities of these temples, organized at the festivals of temples on certain fixed dates, along with some commercial activities. Gradually temple fairs have mainly become shopping markets and entertainment events for common people, and religious activities have become less important.

Temple fairs in Beijing have a long history, and the origin can be traced back to the Liao Dynasty (907 – 1125). The fairs are held at various ancient temples during festivals, so they are called "temple fairs." Read on for more information on which Temple Fairs to attend.

Distinctive Features of Beijing Temple Fairs

Characterized by folk culture activities such as folk skills, collections and flower shows, the temple fairs reproduce the traditional customs of Beijing. Many Beijingers worship a local deity or their ancestors and also enjoy the entertainment, including many kinds of Chinese folk art (music, dance, theater, acrobatics, art, crafts, etc.).

For foreigners, visiting a temple fair is definitely a cultural experience. You may enjoy the reenactment of the ceremony of worship to Earth and Heaven. Folk performances like dragon dances and lion dances, the demonstration of traditional arts and crafts, and fun games are all part and parcel of temple fairs. You can also taste numerous Chinese New Year foods such as snacks, gourmet court dishes and delicacies.

We have lots more for you to read about Beijing's Temple Fairs.

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Other Major Festival Events

Beijing people do more than celebrate at temple fairs, there are also athletic competitions and winter fairs. (The dates of the events in 2022 are not be published. We will update them when they are given. )

Longtan Fair

Ping pongping-pong

The Longtan fair is one of the most popular of its kind in Beijing. It is mainly a sporting event with crowd participation. It doesn't take place in or around a temple. It is held in a park. 

There are athletic competitions and demonstrations to both watch and take part in. Martial arts champions demonstrate their skills, and crowd members are encouraged to take part in various competitions such as table tennis, diabolo (Chinese Yoyo) spinning, arm-wrestling, chess, and rock-climbing. Snacks abound.

  • Go here for: Spectacle of athletic feats, 300-person parade
  • Address: Longtan Park, 8 Longtan Road, Dongcheng District, 东城区龙潭路8号龙潭湖公园北门内(近体育馆路)
  • Getting there: Take subway Line 5 to Tiantandongmen Station.

The Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)

The Old Summer Palace YuanmingyuanThe Old Summer Palace

Dance routines, ice football, operas, and other events will recreate the feel of the late Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). In the 1800s, the old Summer Palace was a particularly busy Spring Festival venue.

  • Go here for: Qing Dynasty imperial performances, ice activities
  • Address: 28 Qinghua Xilu, Haidian District, 圆明园, 海淀区清华西, 28号
  • Getting there: Take subway Line 4 to Yuanmingyuan Station.

Chaoyang International Carnival

This fair puts an international spin on things with flavors from around the world. Go to see international bands, dance troupes, customs, cuisine, and more. This festival is particularly popular with the Western crowd, as there is sure to be a reminder of home.

  • Go here for: International performances and food
  • Address: 1 Nongzhan Nanlu, Chaoyang District 朝阳公园, 朝阳区农展馆南1号
  • Getting there: Take subway line 10 to Tuanjiehu station, then go east. The South Gate will be on the left.

Longqing Gorge Ice and Snow Festival

Ice SculpturesLongqing Gorge Ice and Snow Festival ice sculptures

The Longqing Gorge Ice and Snow Festival is about 50 miles outside central Beijing.  There are ice sculptures like those in Harbin.  

It's a great day/overnight trip, especially if you can't make it out to Harbin Ice and Snow World.

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Celebrate at the Local Bars

Houhai Lake Rooftops

For the true Chunjie experience, visit Houhai Lake, in the center of the city. While other nightlife areas have been built up and modernized, Houhai has kept its traditional charm and beauty. Stop into one of the plethoras of bars along the lake and celebrate in local style.

The Central Business District

For a truly spectacular view of the fireworks that will be lighting up the Beijing sky on the eve of Chinese New Year (11th February) visit Atmosphere Bar on the 80th floor of the China World Summit Wing which looks out over most of the iconic Beijing buildings (i.e. the CCTV headquarters). Reservations are recommended for this night.

Sanlitun

HouhaiYou may be able to skate on Houhai ('Back Lake'), near Sanlitun.

The most famous bar district is packed full of parties and deals for New Year's Eve. This writer recommends visiting The Local, located just off Sanlitun South Street. Janes and Hooch as well as Great Leap Brewing are also popular bars in the neighborhood, the first one serving up cocktails, the second one specializing in craft beer.

The Great Wall

Why not celebrate atop China's own world wonder? The Brickyard, at the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, offers the total package throughout the year, with. Book one of their luxury rooms for the night, and leave the rest to them. This is also likely to be one of the quieter options for Chinese New Year.

You can hike the wall during the day and then warm up with a traditional hotpot dinner, which is said to bring good luck. They also have a dumpling-making workshop preceding a massive fireworks show (on top of the great wall, of course) which you'll get to eat after.

Chinese New Year Travel Tips

  • Traveling within China can get really hectic during this time, as most Chinese people travel to visit relatives and friends in addition to foreign tourists.
  • Make sure to book tickets in advance — planes, trains, dinner, events, everything.
  • If you can avoid traveling and avoid the stress of trying to get a ticket (which can also prove to be quite the hassle), do it.
  • If you do travel during peak times, flying is much less stressful than taking the train.
  • Many restaurants are closed or have limited holiday hours, so be sure to call ahead to make sure you will be accommodated. Often Western restaurants and Western-owned bars are more likely to be open (for example in the Sanlitun area).
  • Be aware that the fireworks last all week. While they are exciting, they become less so when they are exploding outside your window around 7 a.m. It's easy to prepare accordingly (pack earplugs, sleeping pills, etc), but can be really frustrating if it's not expected. They can also be dangerous on the streets, especially in the hutongs where sight is limited.
  • Chunjie is a time for celebration! If you are planning on visiting people, it's not a bad idea to bring them gifts, or better yet, a hongbao.

Have fun, and Xin Nian kuaile! (新年快乐 'Happy New Year!')

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Thinking of Visiting for Chinese New Year?

The Great Wall at MutianyuYou may get the Great Wall to yourself at Chinese New Year.

We can tailor your trip to your requirements, all you have to do is let us know when you're coming, and what you want to do. This way, we can schedule in some of these Chinese New Year activities.

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