All the dignitaries — and a dragon — turned up for the parade

You've got to hand it to New York: in celebrating Chinese New Year it may not have been that punctual this year, but in finally getting there it has done so in style.

The 25th annual New York Lunar New Year parade and festival began unfurling its magic in Chinatown, Manhattan, on Sunday. Of course, no such parade would be complete without a dragon, and joining it in the festivities were some very big names: the Governor of the state, Kathy Hochul, the Mayor of the city, Eric Adams, the US Senate Majority Leader, Charles Schumer, the state Attorney General, Letitia James, a New York state senator, Iwen Chu, and the Chinese Consul General in New York, Huang Ping.

Not only is the Chinese Lunar New Year widely celebrated in the US, but New York City Council has just voted unanimously to designate Lunar New Year as a public holiday, Huang said.

"This further recognizes the important role the Chinese community and the Asian community play in society," he said.

Hochul was just as enthusiastic about the event. "First of all, these crowds are incredible. It's living proof that New York City is back. I have been here through the darkest days. I walked the streets of this community in February 2020, and March 2020. This community was hit so hard."

Underlining how much Hochul empathizes with locals, she announced that the state would allocate $20 million in funds to help bring back to Chinatown the shine it lost during the pandemic.

"This (event) is a testament to the resiliency of the Asian community here in Chinatown, and I cannot be prouder to be your governor. You've been through so much."

More than 20 floats, 60 vehicles and 30,000 people took part in Sunday's parade, watched by an estimated 100,000 spectators.

The float was led by the dragon and a lion dance team made up of 40 people. A float themed "Amazing Cangzhou, Ancient Grand Canal City" headed the performance, bringing the Chinese cultural experience to New York. Cangzhou, Hebei province, is the spiritual home of the lion dance, martial arts and acrobatics.

The float, whose main body consisted of an ancient ship, included several oriental traditional elements such as plum blossoms, lanterns, gold ingots and folding fans, representing happiness, reunion, wealth and culture.

The parade started from the central area of Chinatown and ended in Broome Street.

Sunday's parade was very different from the famous Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, said Wesley Michalski, a Brooklyn resident.

"It felt like it was centered around a community. Macy's Parade is more just like a general holiday celebration, not really focused on a specific community or geographic area. This one was specifically focused on a cultural holiday.

"Even though it's well past the actual day of Chinese New Year (Jan 22), people were clearly excited about this parade, and people had done a lot to prepare for it and still cared a lot about it."