Cao Zhen

    EVERY year, Spring Festival in Hong Kong offers even more than shopping in discounted stores, playing in theme parks and praying in temples. Lunar New Year festivities across the bay also featured a kaleidoscope of colorful celebrations this year, highlighted by the annual parade on the first night of Spring Festival.

    The Hong Kong Tourism Board presented the Jan. 23 parade, which promoted Hong Kong’s global feel with a theme of “World City, World Party.” In its 17th year, the two-hour parade included a procession of 35 floats and performing groups from 12 countries and regions, marching along Canton Road, Haiphong Road and Nathan Road in Kowloon. Throngs of tourists and locals lined the roads nearly two hours before the parade’s scheduled 8 p.m. start, despite drizzling rain and chilly night air.

    The parade featured many new performers and participants, such as Japan’s Saga Karatsu Kunchi Sea Bream Float, which has been a centerpiece of Karatsu’s annual festival for more than 160 years. New performers also included the world-acclaimed Guangzhou Acrobatic Troupe, which combines modern dance with creative gymnastics, and a stilts troupe from the Netherlands.

    The parade ended with a dance party by 138 students from 12 domestic colleges.