Year of the RAT!

Gung Hay Fat Choy! Or Happy New Year in Chinese! Today is the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebration in London. It is the year of the rat.


Fun Fact: London has the largest Chinese population outside of China so Chinese New Year is crazy important and huge.

We headed down to Charing Cross today to catch the parade. The parade came down the streets with Chinese dragons, martial arts exhibits and plenty kimonos. We took entirely too many photos so we apologize in advance.









we think that there may have been some non-chinese people in the parade, but can't be sure...




The real Kung Fu Panda












After the parade we headed down to Leicester Square where there were stalls, booths, and shows happening on main stages in both Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square. Chinatown was packed to the brim, bustling with Chinese lanterns and tourists with fold-up dragons.

Ellie in Leicester Square


China Town


We crammed ourselves into a Chinese restaurant and ate sweet and sour tofu and fried rice and watched the crowds from the window. Afterwards, we enjoyed the sun on our face as we watched traditional Chinese dance on the main stage in Trafalgar square with the thousands of other people.

Trafalgar Square