Bangkok Welcomes Chinese New Year
A series of festivities were held along Bangkok's Chinatown to usher in the Lunar New Year and celebrate over three decades of healthy diplomatic relations between China and Thailand.The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration in cooperation with China's Ministry of Culture organized a two-day event featuring performances that showcased cultural elements from both countries. Among the performers include 200 talents from mainland China, who will be staging shows all over Thailand in the next couple of weeks this month.
Officially inaugurating the celebration for the Lunar New Year was no other than Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. Meanwhile, Thailand's Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva expressed his good wishes for the People's Republic. "I wish the people of China more progress in the coming years" he says.
While over a million revelers are estimated to have attended the "Chinatown Yaowarat BE 2553" event, more than THB 300M is expected to be generated as income from the celebrations.
Bangkok's Yaowarat Road is not the only venue to witness a grand welcome for the Year of the Tiger. Hotels in Hat Yai and Songkhla in southern Thailand are fully booked for the week of festivities‚Äö breaking records from the previous years.