On Wednesday, 29 January 2025, people all over the world celebrated Chinese New Year (also known as the Spring Festival). In Kuala Lumpur, a multicultural city that is home to a large Chinese population and is especially popular among Chinese travellers, these celebrations offered an unforgettable backdrop to tourists from all over the world this January.
The city came alive with a series of performances, pop-up festivals and artistic installations, each designed to celebrate Chinese heritage and offer a colourful, auspicious opening to the Year of the Snake.
Over several days, local residents and international visitors alike could be seen enjoying Barong dances, sampling Chinese cuisine, taking selfies with giant panda bears, interacting with digital floor displays, or admiring the Calligraphy Art Exhibition hosted in partnership with the Federation of Calligraphy Society Malaysia.
Various local companies and tourism hotspots have been getting into the festive spirit too. A premiere shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur’s central Bukit Bintang area, called Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, unveiled a seasonal installation called “Prosperity in Harmony” in its central atrium. This featured a canopy of red lanterns, above a series of snake mascots and lions.
The mall also put together a Chinese New Year reunion dinner exhibit, which celebrated the tradition of families reuniting to eat together at this time of year. Various traditional dishes were on display and available to try, as part of wider plans to promote the blessings of health, prosperity and togetherness that are so central to Chinese New Year celebrations.
Another mall, called Pavilion Damansara Heights, laid out an eye-catching cultural diorama measuring 93 feet in length. Created in partnership with the World Culture Organisation, this installation highlights Chinese traditions and centuries of heritage through grand imperial banquets spanning various Chinese dynasties.
Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar, which marks the end of winter and the beginning of spring. The festival takes place from Chinese New Year’s Eve (the evening preceding the first day of the year) to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between 21 January and 20 February.
One of the most important holidays in Chinese culture, CNY is celebrated throughout the global Chinese diaspora, with particular enthusiasm in Southeast Asia. The festivities are rooted in a range of ancient myths and customs, and were traditionally a time to honour deities as well as ancestors. Today, in places such as Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Chinese New Year offers a glimpse into the multicultural marvels of a truly eclectic and unforgettable tourism landscape, blending tradition with modernity.
