Chinese New Year celebration, London
The Year of the Golden Pig is ushered in.
(Photos/words © urban75, 18th February 2007)

Now a major annual event, London's Chinese New Year celebrations saw thousands of people flooding into the area around Chinatown, with a march taking in the Strand, Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue.

Entertainments were put on in Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square, with the organisers claiming that the celebrations were the largest outside China (it was certainly very, very crowded - in fact, we found it to be a bit over-subscribed and fled to the Photographers' Gallery).

The Chinese New Year is the biggest event of the year for Chinese communities, and it's a noisy affair with banging drums, gongs and cymbals designed to ward off evil and bad luck.

This year is the Year of the Golden Pig - a rare even that only happens only once every six decades - with the Pig supposed to bring good luck and prosperity.

Chinatown views



















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