Where to Welcome Year of the Rat in Bangkok

Festivalgoers use their paddles to stir fry noodles during Chinese New Year celebration on Yaowarat Road on Feb. 5, 2019.
Festivalgoers use their paddles to stir fry noodles during Chinese New Year celebration on Yaowarat Road on Feb. 5, 2019.

BANGKOK — Whether you’re into snacking on deep fried pork while watching Chinese acrobats and lion dances, sipping on craft cocktails in your bespoke qipao, or cheering to teen girl idols, there’s something for everyone in Bangkok for Chinese New Year this Saturday.

Chinatown

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn tours the Chinese New Year event on Yaowarat Road on Feb. 5, 2018.

The headlining event nationwide will be along Yaowarat Road in Bangkok’s Chinatown. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is due to visit the road on Saturday to celebrate the New Year, joined by Thai and Chinese officials.

See cultural performances from more than 150 performers who will fly directly from China to deliver shows, including a disabled dance troupe from Beijing, a thousand hands Bodhisattva dance from Shanxi, and a kung fu martial arts show from Henan. Fans of Chinese series “The Untamed” will also have a chance to meet the actors in person.

Famed Chinese artist Han Meilin will perform his calligraphy skills onstage and draw auspicious inscriptions, while food vendors will take the street to serve Chinese and Thai dishes.

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The event will take place from Jan. 25 to 26 on Yaowarat Road.

Workshops

Chinese New Year celebration at Siam Square in 2018.
Chinese New Year celebration at Siam Square in 2018.

The same ensembles will also perform downtown at Siam Square. Activities will include cooking auspicious dishes and painting the zodiac animals.

Instagrammers can take selfies with the gilded light tunnel, while crafters can attend workshops on making their own Chinese decor. All-girl idol group DAISY DAISY – one of the many idol groups to pop up after BNK48’s success – will shower fans with cute dance moves from 6.40pm to 7.10pm on Jan. 25.

The event will take place from Jan. 24 to 26 at Siam Square.

Mall Shows

Chinese New Year celebration at Siam Paragon.
Chinese New Year celebration at Siam Paragon.

Ninety-nine lion dance troupes will gather at Siam Paragon for what’s billed as one of the the largest lion dance shows in Thailand this year. Award-winning acrobatic troupes from Dalian and Guangzhou, known for their gravity-defying stunts, will also perform for free daily starting at 6pm on Jan. 23 to 26.

At Iconsiam, the enthralling China National Acrobatic Troupe will perform their signature act that blends Peking opera with diabolo techniques for free starting at 4.30pm on Jan. 22. There will also be renditions of Chinese opera by local groups from Bangkok’s different districts.

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Bar Celebrations

Photo: Ba Hao / Facebook
Photo: Ba Hao / Facebook

For partygoers, legendary table-climbing Khaosan Road establishment Brick Bar has a Chinese New Year’s themed party Saturday night starting 7pm. More mellow folks can sip cocktails at hip Chinese themed-bar Ba Hao in the Chinatown area, which will host lion dances starting at 9pm on Saturday.

Craft beer bar Mikeller Ari promises a slight 10 percent discount on their Hong Kong/Taiwan beer labels along with angpao red envelopes, while Crimson Room is having a Wong Kar Wai-themed party – don those qipaos and wear an air of urban melancholy.