Where to celebrate Chinese New Year in Johannesburg

20 Jan 2025

Chinese New Year celebrations in Cyrildene. Photo: Mark Straw.

Celebrations at Nan Hua Buddhist Temple in Bronkhorstspruit. Photo: Supplied.

Chinese New Year in Joburg. Photo: Supplied.

The Chinese Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, starts on Wed, Jan 29, 2025, and marks the transition from one zodiac animal to the next on the Chinese calendar. This year marks the end of the Year of the Dragon as it gives way to the Year of the Wood Snake, which, depending on your zodiac sign, could make it either a lucky or unlucky one for you (if you want to find out what the Year of the Wood Snake means for you, check your zodiac sign here).

The festival starts with a day dedicated to cleaning and making room for good luck and then there are prayers, family meals, parades, and fireworks. Joburg’s Chinese community always makes sure to celebrate with cultural performances, light displays, and plenty of delicious food with event stretched over two weekends.

Sat, Feb 1, 2025: The Chinese Association, Gauteng Chinese New Year Festival 2025

Gauteng Chinese New Year celebrations. Photo: Mark Straw.

Ring in the Lunar New Year with The Gauteng Chinese Association (TCA) at their annual Chinese New Year Festival on Sat, Feb 1. Established in 1903, the TCA is South Africa's oldest Chinese association, dedicated to fostering cultural understanding and celebrating community.

This year's celebration takes place at Alberton Rugby Club from 14:00 – 21:00. Enjoy a festive night market with craft and food stalls, family fun with inflatables, theme park rides, and even helicopter flips. There'll be more than six hours of live entertainment featuring lion and dragon dancing alongside performances by local and Asian artists. The evening culminates in a dazzling musical fireworks display by Starburst Pyrotechnics.

Sun, Feb 2, 2025: Nan Hua Buddhist Temple Chinese New Year Cultural Festival

**Nan Hua Buddhist Temple**'s annual Chinese New Year Celebrations. Photo: Supplied.

The magnificent Nan Hua Buddhist Temple (located in Bronkhorstspruit, about an hour's drive northeast of Joburg) was donated by Taiwanese Buddhists when Taiwan had close ties with South Africa and is the largest Buddhist temple in the southern hemisphere. The temple's annual Chinese New Year celebration is a fun traditional and cultural experience for the whole family. This year's celebrations are planned for Sun, Feb 2 from 09:30 – 15:00. The day begins with a light-offering ceremony followed by an opening ceremony, a Chinese cultural festival, and multicultural performances (including martial arts performances and Indian dancing). Throughout the day, visitors can enjoy an array of Chinese, Cantonese, and Taiwanese cultural stalls, meditation exhibits, and a magical Wishing Tree.

Sat, Feb 8 2025: Chinese New Year in Cyrildene

Dragon dancing in **Cyrildene**. Photo by Mark Straw.

Cyrildene, Joburg's biggest Chinatown, will have its official street party on Sat, Feb 8 from 16:30 – 21:30 held by the Chinatown Johannesburg Community Committee. Enjoy Chinese dragon and lion dances, cultural performances, and a Chinese national costume parade. Many of the restaurants there will be open for bookings and the street is sure to be alive with colour, lights, and noise as residents celebrate the New Year. Cyrildene’s fireworks are always a memorable affair (just watch your head). There are plenty of restaurants to choose from, and with New Year being the community's biggest event, tables get booked up well in advance. Some recommended Cyrildene restaurants offering festive New Year dinner packages, and streetside tables with good views of the parade include Shun De (+27 11 615 1269) and Diao Yu Dao (+27 11 615 1715), or for a typical Chinese hotpot, try Chong Qing Hot Pot, which has a balcony overlooking the street (+27 83 554 3054).

Celebrate at home

**PRON**'s bright décor. Photo: Supplied.

If you’d prefer to mark the arrival of the Year of the Wood Snake with friends and family at home, you can stock up on lanterns, red ornaments, and hard-to-find Chinese ingredients for a home-cooked meal at Sui Hing Hong in First Chinatown. Or get a takeaway feast to enjoy at home with the family. Some of our favourite, authentic Chinese restaurants include the classic Cantonese yum cha restaurant Shun De in Cyrildene, Emma Chen's always excellent Red Chamber in Hyde Park Corner, and her more casual noodle restaurant PRON (People's Republic of Noodles) in Linden. A highly underrated spot is Kung Fu Kitchen in Bedfordview (also known as Tong Lok in a previous incarnation).

If you are still looking to get a few more things to ring in the New Year, you can buy pretty much anything at one of Joburg's many China malls. If you want to give your home a new lick of colour with some lanterns, or perhaps a sparkly new Chinese horoscope calendar, China Mall is a good place to start. If you are planning to give any New Year gifts to mark the Year of the Wood Snake, remember that red is the luckiest colour in Chinese tradition, and we could all use a bit of luck right now. In particular, it is common in Chinese tradition to exchange red envelopes containing "lucky money" (especially gold or silver coins) to mark the New Year.