Thousands pack the streets of Chinatown to celebrate the Chinese New Year and watch Dragon parade

Thousands of people headed to Manchester's historic Chinatown to celebrate the Chinese New Year and watch the dazzling Dragon parade. Also known as the Spring Festival and Lunar New Year, celebrations began on Wednesday (January 29) but festivities will continue for several weeks.

In what has become a local tradition in the city, Chinatown was transformed into a hub of activity filled with food and souvenir stalls, funfair rides and more on Sunday (February 2). The parade was set to begin at 12pm from the junction of Oxford Street and George Street and culminate in Chinatown.

The much-loved neighbourhood was filled well before the main event, with a jubilant and family friendly atmosphere in the air. Excited young children were herded through the packed streets by their parents, and not a second went by without the sound of firecrackers hitting the pavement.

One family who were excited to begin celebrations was the Wong family, from Manchester, speaking to the MEN, the dad said: "It's a great celebration, we're from mainland China and it'll encourage our kids to learn about our home and its tradition. It's also good for the foreign kids to know more about the world."

Couple Belle Yuen and Lewis Kan are from Manchester, this year's parade was their second time celebrating the Lunar New Year in the city.

Speaking to the MEN about what brought them to the city centre today, Lewis said: “We wanted to get the same feeling as we do back home in Hong Kong. We appreciate the local community for coming out.

"The organisation is well thought out despite the city's limited resources and it's great that local people can know about our tradition. For this year I'm hoping for no more wars in the world, for the economy to improve and