Almost 3-M join Manila Chinese New Year celebrations

The activities marking the Chinese New Year celebration in Manila drew an attendance of almost three million, with authorities reporting its huge success and orderly, peaceful execution.

Mayor Honey Lacuna, Vice Mayor Yul Servo and City Administrator Bernie Ang led the city of Manila and its residents, especially those from the Chinese-Filipino communities, in ushering in the “Year of the Wood Snake” at midnight on 28 January and holding a “Solidarity Parade” on Chinese New Year’s Day itself on 29 January 2025.

Lacuna and Ang are the chair and vice chair of the Manila Chinatown Development Council.

Ang, who oversaw the two-day festivities, said Chinese organizations and embassies continue to send congratulatory messages to Lacuna’s leadership for the successful holding of what they described as the grandest Chinese New Year celebration in the country.

The event was held in Manila Chinatown, touted to be the largest and oldest Chinatown in the world.

According to Ang, the 25-minute musical fireworks and drone show, held at the Chinese-Filipino Friendship Bridge opposite Jones Bridge (which served as the viewing deck and the site of the program preceding the Chinese New Year countdown), drew an estimated crowd of nearly a million on the bridge and surrounding areas alone, including the esplanade, riverside and Chinatown itself.

Also present were Congressman Joel Chua (3rd district, Manila) and city councilors; Manila-China Cultural Affairs Office (MCCAO) head Ati Co; MCDC executive director Willord Chua; members of the Filipino-Chinese Youth Business Association, headed by its founding president Peter Zhuang, also of the MCCAO; Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. (FFCCCII) president Cecilio Pedro; and Manila Chinatown Barangay Organization head Jefferson Lau, among others.

Department of Tourism, Culture and the Arts of Manila chief Charlie Dungo, as well as heads of various departments, bureaus, and offices in Manila, also attended the event, along with mayors from provinces, including Calapan Mayor Malou Morillo and the mayor’s secretary, Penny Belmonte.

At the “Solidarity Parade” on 29 January, Ang said crowds of about a million patiently waited, filling the streets leading to Chinatown, beginning at the Lawton area, the parade’s starting point.

Around 30 floats representing the city of Manila and various Chinese-Filipino organizations participated in the parade, which took over two hours to wind through the route. Huge crowds surging toward Lacuna’s float to take pictures or selfies stalled the parade at times.

Ang said that even Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, who rode the lead float with Lacuna, expressed surprise and delight and even took pictures of the mammoth crowds lining the streets to welcome the floats, estimated at nearly two million. The entire parade route is two kilometers long.

Lacuna commended all those who helped keep the entire celebration peaceful and orderly, as she again extended her greetings to the Chinese-Filipino communities on behalf of the city and its residents.

She particularly thanked the Chinese-Filipino organizations that jointly mounted the event at no cost to the city.