Midnight on the Sixth: Fireworks Over a City That Stays Up
It is just past eleven on the night of February 5, 2027 — Chinese New Year's Eve — and Beijing is loud. Firecrackers crack through the cold in waves, red lanterns swing above doorways strung with couplets, and families are still at the table over the reunion dinner, plates of fish and dumplings within reach, waiting out the hours to midnight. In the major cities, public firework displays mark the turn of the year, and Beijing's skyline glows with them. You do not need a ticket or a programme to take part in this: you need a warm coat, a thermos, and the willingness to stand outside at midnight with everyone else.
The 2027 New Year falls on Saturday, February 6, and the public holiday in mainland China runs February 5–12. The festival itself lasts sixteen days, from New Year's Eve through the Lantern Festival on February 20 — so even a short trip lands you inside the celebration.
Follow the Red Through the Markets and Hutong Alleys
In the days before the New Year — from Little Year on January 31, when households clean and cook in preparation — Beijing turns red. Lanterns, couplets and New Year pictures go up on doorways and shopfronts, and the markets that sell them are the city's most photogenic crowds. Walk into the older neighbourhoods and you will find the same scene repeating street after street: paper goods stacked in bundles, calligraphers writing couplets on the spot, and shoppers carrying more than they can comfortably hold.
- Buy red lanterns, couplets and New Year pictures in the weeks before the holiday — decorating with red is the core visual ritual of the season.
- Watch for lion and dragon dances in public spaces throughout the festival; they run from New Year's Day right through to the Lantern Festival on February 20.
- Greet shopkeepers and neighbours with "Xīnnián hǎo" or "Xīnnián kuàilè" — and "Gongxi facai" if you want to wish them prosperity.
- Wear something new on New Year's Day. It is the custom, and you will not be the only one who has made the effort.
Eat Like the Year Depends On It
The New Year table is loaded with meaning, and the meanings are worth knowing before you order. Fish stands for surplus and abundance. Dumplings, shaped like silver ingots, stand for prosperity and the family unit. Niángāo — glutinous rice cake — stands for a higher income or position in the year ahead. You will find all three across the city through the holiday, from family restaurants to the prepared-food counters of the big markets.
- Book a reunion dinner for New Year's Eve, February 5. This is the meal the whole festival is built around, and tables go early.
- Eat dumplings more than once. They are the everyday food of the season and the easiest thing to find when everything else is shut.
- Skip the porridge at breakfast on New Year's Day — tradition says it brings poverty, and it is one of the few food rules Beijingers actually keep.
- Also skip the sweeping, the laundry and the hair-washing on New Year's Day. All three are said to sweep or wash away good fortune.
Sixteen Days, and How to Spend Them
The festival has a rhythm, and you can plan around it. Little Year on January 31 is about cleaning and cooking — quiet, domestic, and a good day to wander markets while they are still calm. New Year's Eve on February 5 is for the reunion dinner, red envelopes, and staying up to midnight for the fireworks. New Year's Day on February 6 is for visiting and greeting relatives, exchanging gifts, and watching the Spring Festival Gala on television — the broadcast that plays in nearly every household in the country. From there the days loosen into public celebration, running all the way to the Lantern Festival on February 20, when lanterns and dragon dances close the season.
- January 31 — Little Year: cleaning, cooking, and the last quiet days in the markets.
- February 5 — New Year's Eve: reunion dinner, red envelopes to children and retirees, firecrackers and public fireworks at midnight.
- February 6 — New Year's Day: family visits, gift-giving, new clothes, the Spring Festival Gala.
- February 20 — Lantern Festival: lanterns and dragon dances, the formal end of the New Year.
What to Know Before You Book
Beijing in early February is cold, and the city empties out as residents travel home for the holiday — which means some restaurants and shops close, and the ones that stay open are full. Plan your reunion dinner well ahead, keep cash and small red envelopes on you, and expect transport to be busy on the days either side of February 5 and 6. The public holiday runs February 5–12, so the days immediately after New Year's Day are the most congested for travel within the country.
Start with the dates: February 5 for the eve, February 6 for the New Year itself, February 20 for the lanterns. Build your trip around those three, leave room for the days in between, and let the city's own calendar — the markets, the dances, the fireworks at midnight — do the rest of the planning for you.