By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Lunar New Year’s Eve, the flower markets’ last nightFriday 5 February 2027
- Lunar New Year’s Day, a public holidaySaturday 6 February 2027
- Third day, a public holidayMonday 8 February 2027
- Fourth day, a public holiday in place of the SundayTuesday 9 February 2027
- Where
- Tsim Sha Tsui and Victoria Harbour
- Tickets
- Free
- Time of year
- January or February
- Dates
- Move each year with the lunar calendar
Public holidays gazetted by the Hong Kong government: 6, 8 and 9 February, the 9th standing in because the second day of the new year is a Sunday. The parade and fireworks are not gazetted. By recent custom they fall on the first and second days, and the Tourism Board confirms them a few weeks ahead.
Lunar New Year is the biggest date on the Hong Kong calendar, with three public holidays and a run of free public events. Flower markets peak on the eve, a night parade fills Tsim Sha Tsui on the first day, fireworks light the harbour on the second, and Sha Tin races on the third. It is a spectacular time to be here and an awkward one to eat out, because family-run businesses close for several days.
What Lunar New Year actually is
For most Hong Kong families the new year is a private affair of reunion dinners, visits to relatives and red packets. What a visitor sees is the public layer built around it, and that layer is unusually generous: almost everything worth seeing costs nothing.
The parade is the Tourism Board’s creation, floats and performing troupes from around the world moving through Tsim Sha Tsui after dark. The older rituals happen elsewhere. At Wong Tai Sin Temple worshippers press forward on the eve to place the first incense of the year, and at Che Kung Temple in Sha Tin people turn a bronze pinwheel for luck on the third day.
Mainland China takes its own long holiday at the same time, so the city receives visitors just as much of it is closing.
Where to watch Lunar New Year
- Victoria Park, for the flower market. It is the largest of the city’s New Year fairs, with orchids, kumquat trees and stalls of silly toys, and it runs all night on the eve. Bargains arrive in the last hours, as stallholders clear their stock.
- Canton Road, Haiphong Road and Nathan Road, for the parade. At the last parade the route left the Hong Kong Cultural Centre at about 8pm and reached Canton Road about half an hour later and Nathan Road about an hour later. Arrive well ahead of it, as police close the pavements when they fill.
- Either side of Victoria Harbour, for the fireworks. The Tsim Sha Tsui promenade is the classic view and the first to fill. Wan Chai and Central look across the other way, and hotel restaurants sell window tables for high prices.
- Wong Tai Sin Temple on the eve, for the first incense. Expect a slow, dense, smoky crowd; go if you want the most intense hour of the festival, and skip it if you dislike crushes.
Tickets and what it costs
Nothing has to be booked for the street events. The only paid seats are the spectator stands along the parade route, sold in advance, and they sold out at the last parade. Raceday at Sha Tin is ticketed at the racecourse, and the public enclosure is cheap.
Book hotel rooms and any restaurant table early. Hotels and chains stay open through the holiday, so they fill quickly.
Official information and booking: www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/events/chinese-new-year.html
Getting there
The MTR runs throughout and is the only sensible way to reach any of this. Use Tsim Sha Tsui or East Tsim Sha Tsui for the parade, Causeway Bay for Victoria Park and Wong Tai Sin station, which opens directly by the temple. Station exits may close for crowd control on parade and fireworks nights, so allow extra time.
Roads around the route close from the afternoon, and taxis are scarce across the holiday. Harbour crossings by road are slow on fireworks night.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Planning a food trip
Family-run restaurants, noodle shops and market stalls can close for three or four days or more, and they are the reason most people come to eat here. Hotel restaurants and chains stay open, often with a holiday surcharge.
Arriving at the promenade at seven
The waterfront fills hours before the fireworks, and police stop people entering when it is full. Either arrive by late afternoon with a jacket and something to eat, or settle for a view from further along.
Treating the programme as fixed
The city went without fireworks on a recent New Year’s Eve after a deadly fire, and the lunar display has stopped for years at a time in the past. The Tourism Board confirms each event only a few weeks ahead, so check before building a night around it.
Crossing the border on the first days
Trains and checkpoints to the mainland are very busy on both sides of the holiday. If Shenzhen or Guangzhou is on your list, keep it well away from the first days of the new year.
Other Hong Kong events
Frequently asked questions
When is Lunar New Year in Hong Kong?
On the first day of the lunar year, which falls between late January and mid-February. The dates card above has this year’s holidays. The eve is not a public holiday, though many offices close early.
Is everything closed in Hong Kong at Lunar New Year?
No. Malls, hotels, museums, theme parks and chain restaurants mostly stay open, some on shorter hours. Banks, offices, market stalls and family-run shops and restaurants close, many for several days.
Is the Hong Kong night parade free?
Yes, from the pavements along the route. Spectator-stand seats are sold separately in advance and have sold out before. The route has run through Tsim Sha Tsui in recent years, and the Tourism Board publishes the details shortly before.
Where is the best place to see the Lunar New Year fireworks?
The Tsim Sha Tsui promenade, if you arrive hours early. Wan Chai and Central have views from the other shore, and a harbour-view restaurant or hotel room avoids the crowd at a price.
What is lai see?
A red packet of crisp banknotes, given by married adults to children and unmarried friends, and to staff who serve you regularly. Visitors are not expected to give them.
Sources
- GovHK, general holidays
- Hong Kong Tourism Board, Chinese New Year
- Hong Kong Observatory, conversion table
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.