People stage a performance during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration in Yangon, Myanmar, Jan 28, 2017. Myanmar-Chinese began a grand celebration of the traditional Chinese New Year here on Saturday. [Photo/Xinhua]

ROME - A cheerful parade through the city center kicked off the celebrations for the Chinese New Year in the Italian capital on Saturday, which has lately become a traditional and long-awaited event here.

Dancers, martial artists and acrobats from China's Henan province performed before a large crowd, which then gathered in Piazza del Popolo in the city's historic heart.

Organized by the Chinese Embassy in Italy with the patronage of the Italian ministry of culture, the feast represented one of the key events marking the beginning of the Year of the Rooster across the country.

"This is the fourth or the fifth time I have come, I am not sure... and it is always great fun," Marinella, a pensioner from Rome, told Xinhua.

This year, she said she wanted to bring her two-year-old nephew Sami as well, to allow him to get a "first touch" of a different culture.

Though looking a little scared by the acrobats performing amazing contortions on the stage, the child visibly enjoyed the music, colorful masks and the presence of so many other children around him.

One of the largest celebrations of the Spring Festival in Europe has been held in Rome in the latest years. The 2017 indeed marked the seventh edition of this festivity in the Italian capital, as Chinese Ambassador to Italy Li Ruiyu recalled in a brief welcome message to the spectators.