The Sydney Chinese new year twilight parade 2012 Special

Sydney - The Chinese new year parade on Jan. 29, 2012 celebrated the start of the lunar year, which was actually on Jan. 23. The parade started at Town Hall and finished at Harbour Street, in the Chinatown or Haymarket area of Sydney.

2012 is the year of the dragon and the parade featured a lot of dragons. The parade, though mainly Chinese, also featured some other Asian countries including Korea. This year the special delegation had come from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province. Children were wearing the paper dragon masks that had been handed out. What looked like giant, red, inflatable chop sticks were also in abundance. The crowds were several people thick along most of the route of the parade. Those taking part in the parade included people dressed as pandas, dancers, bands and a martial arts group. Sources and further information City of Sydney Chinese New Year website Australian Chinese New Year Celebrations website