Abu Dhabi to celebrate Chinese New Year

Abu Dhabi / Emirates Business

Abu Dhabi will mark Chinese New Year with a range of spectacular performances, activities and promotions as the emirate celebrates China’s rich heritage, culture and history.
Locations across the city will host a variety of entertaining activities including traditional parades, dragon dances, Kung Fu shows and demonstrations of Chinese dances and arts as the Year of the Monkey draws to an end and the Year of the Rooster is welcomed in on January 28.
China is a major international source market for Abu Dhabi with the emirate welcoming more than 200,000 Chinese visitors from January to November 2016, a rise of 25% on the same period the previous year. The Chinese are now only behind India and the UK in providing the most foreign visitors into the emirate.
HE Saif Saeed Ghobash, Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), said: “China is one of our key markets which has significant future growth prospects over the coming years. We anticipate welcoming more than 600,000 Chinese visitors a year by 2021 and expect to reach this ambitious target through a series of initiatives designed to encourage more Chinese visitors to visit Abu Dhabi and to stay longer.
“We have seen large increases in the numbers of Chinese visitors and the number of nights they are staying throughout 2016 and will capitalise on this progress throughout 2017 through extensive marketing campaigns by utilising our TCA Abu Dhabi office in Beijing to promote the emirate. Our celebrations of Chinese New year only add to the appeal of Abu Dhabi for tourists from the Far East who are seeking places in the region to explore and visit.”
Abu Dhabi has made great strides in recent years to make it easier for Chinese tourists to gain entry into the emirate and travel around. Several tourist attractions and hotels across the emirate have already received the China Tourism Academy’s Welcome Chinese Certification, awarded to destinations offering high quality services to Chinese visitors, including Mandarin-speaking staff, while new legislation last year allows Chinese visitors to receive a visa on arrival at Abu Dhabi International Airport making the process of staying in Abu Dhabi even easier.
Many leading destinations and hotels across Abu Dhabi also now accept China Union Pay bank cards making it easier for Chinese tourists to stay and travel.
To celebrate the Year of the Rooster, Yas Mall is holding a series of events from January 25-28 for the whole family. Among the activities will be a series of dances, performances and workshops starting from midday and running until 10pm. Shopping promotions and a traditional Chinese ‘Tree of Wealth’ are running until January 31 with visitors able to win special daily prizes.
Ferrari World Abu Dhabi on Yas Island also has a full programme of events where visitors can enjoy a variety of live entertainment including traditional lion dance performances, martial arts demonstrations, acrobat shows and live oriental music.
Al Maryah Island is also joining in with the celebrations with fun for adults and children including fireworks, parades, food stalls, drumming demonstrations and a variety of traditional Chinese activities such as kite painting and origami.
At the Promenade on January 27-28, a daily live show will captivate visitors of all ages as they are taken on a theatrical journey through the Orient, starting with a colourful parade of iconic characters, followed by serene umbrella, fan and kite dances, tranquil yet gripping performances from meditating monks, and acrobatics. The gripping show will culminate with a dramatic live Chinese drumming performance.
An electrifying fireworks display at 9pm on January 27 will also light up the island. There will also be hands-on activities such as dragon origami, blossom drawing, lantern making, kite designing and face painting, as well as live cooking stations dotted around the Promenade.
The Galleria on Al Maryah Island will be transformed into a spectacular display of Chinese attire, with lanterns and a light show illuminating the mall, and an Ang Pa tree of fortune where visitors can make a Chinese New Year wish. An eclectic programme of dance and music performances, headlined by acrobatics show, Cirque Shanghai Extraordinaire will enthrall visitors, as well as craft workshops and demonstrations of Chinese calligraphy, tea making and sugar painting, and more.
In addition, a Chinese art exhibition will be on display at The Galleria from January 25th until February 4, displaying the artwork of the famous Chinese folk artist Yuan Hongbin.
A full programme of events and timings is available on AbuDhabiEvents.ae