The Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Parade, also known as the Vancouver Chinese New Year Parade, takes place on the Sunday after the Lunar New Year.
In 2026 the 52nd edition of the parade happens on Sunday, February 22nd. That’s a few days after New Year’s Day next year according to the lunar calendar. The Year of the Horse actually starts on February 17th.
This article contains the following information about the annual parade:
Where and When? | Parade Length | What’s the Parade Like? | Other Activities | Chinese New Year in Chinatown Video | Tips & Advice | Other Information
Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Parade
The Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Parade occurs in the heart of Vancouver’s Chinatown. It’s a sight to see!
See our article about New Year in the Lower Mainland for information about other Chinese and Lunar New Year celebrations around the same time. Or, click Chinese New Year in Downtown Vancouver for details specifically about events in Vancouver’s Chinatown area. Other activities in downtown Vancouver include celebrations at International Village Mall and free LunarFest festivities outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. The Chinese Canadian Museum also hosts special activities to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Continue reading to learn about the Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival.
MUSEUM ACTIVITIES AND TOURS
One of the best places in the country to learn about the history and contributions of people of Chinese descent in this country is at the Chinese Canadian Museum. It’s a great museum located at 51 East Pender Street in the heart of Chinatown. To celebrate the Lunar New Year, the museum usually has special activities closer to the Chinese New Year.
If you ever want to really learn about and explore Vancouver’s Chinatown we highly recommend Historical Chinatown Tours. They are great to do any time of the year, but especially during the Lunar New Year season. During parade day, one of the tours includes access to an exceptional private spot above the road for viewing the parade!
Where and When does the Chinese New Year Parade Happen?
The parade takes place in Chinatown. It begins by the Millennium Gate. Parade participants, floats and bands usually start around Taylor Street and Shanghai Alley. They then make their way along East Pender Street, then Gore Street and then Keefer Street before finishing at around Keefer and Abbott.
The Millennium gate is located outside the International Village Mall which is located at 88 West Pender. The shopping centre is where additional festivities take place all that weekend most years. The parade finishes at the intersection of Keefer Place and Carrall Street, so just by Andy Livingstone Park.
The parade in 2025 took place on Sunday, February 2nd. Starting at 11:00 am, it usually runs until about 1:00 pm. It’s a pretty big parade! As many as 5,000 people from 70 different organizations participate in the procession. Between another 100,000 and 200,000 show up to watch.
How Long is Vancouver’s Chinese New Year Parade?
The Vancouver Chinese New Year Parade is a relatively short parade in distance, by Vancouver standards, but one of the city’s longer ones with respect to time. It runs for about 1.3 kms and lasts for between two and two-and-a-half hours.
By comparison, the Pride Parade in August runs for about 1.5 hours and stretches approximately 2.4 kms from start to finish.
The 1.3-km-long Chinese New Year Parade route starts at the Millennium Gate on Pender Street (between Shanghai Alley and Taylor Street). It then proceeds east along Pender Street, turns south onto Gore Street, turns west onto Keefer Street and then ends at Carrall Street.
What is Vancouver’s Chinese New Year Parade Like?
The Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Parade is impressive. It’s a massive parade that attracts over 100,000 spectators in years with good weather. The parade also usually features around 70 parade entries. In the parade itself are as many as 5,000 participants. There are people on floats, in marching bands, walking in costume, drumming on drums, shooting off fire crackers, handing out swag and waving from cars.
Expect to see many people at the parade – especially if the weather is good – and expect to hear lots of noise. The sidewalks along Pender, Gore and Keefer are packed full of people. The sounds of drums fill the air. It’s a pretty fun and exciting event (unless you are claustrophobic or get stuck at the back of the crowd and can’t see anything).
What Else is there at the Chinatown Spring Festival?
The parade is the main reason why people flock to Chinatown on the Sunday after the Lunar New Year, but that’s not the only thing to see. There are also free festivities at the International Village Mall all weekend, and special Chinese New Year activities at Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden on the same day as the parade.
In addition to the other above events, after the parade, there is Lion Dancing in the streets most years. As soon as the parade finishes many spectators rush to the nearby mall or garden, hoping to get there before the rest of the crowds. Others rush to their cars, busses or nearby SkyTrain station, again in hopes of beating the crowds and gridlocked traffic in their attempts to get home. Others, though, stick around for the post-parade show.
Lion Dancing on the Streets
The entertainment doesn’t end when the parade finishes. If you hang around for a while after you’ll see the Lion Dancing. Listen for the drumming and look out for the crowd and you’ll find them.
A tradition at Chinese New Year is for a team of dancers and drummers to do a Lion Dance performance where they dance on the street, visit area merchants, eat offerings of lettuce and bless the businesses. It’s fun to watch and worth sticking around for.
Chinese New Year in Chinatown Video
The following video contains scenes of events and activities during Chinese New Year in Vancouver’s Chinatown neighbourhood.
The video features the parade from various roads and angles. It also shows lion dancing in the streets and at the Chinatown Plaza Mall. You’ll also see scenes of performances at the International Village Mall. As you can see in the video, thousands of people turn out for the celebrations.
Tips & Advice
Below are some suggestions to help you make the most of your Vancouver Chinatown Spring Festival Parade experience.
TIP #1: The crowds along the parade route can get pretty thick. If you’re short, have young children or hope to set up a chair, you’ll want to arrive as much as an hour before the start of the parade to claim a prime spot at the edge of the sidewalk.
TIP #2: Stick around at the end of the parade to watch the Lion Dancing.
TIP #3: If you don’t like crowds, don’t go to the parade! And if you’re already there and want to escape, but not go too far, head to the International Village Mall or Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Garden. They are both really busy after the parade, but quieter while the parade is still going on compared to later in the afternoon. There is also lots to see and do at the Chinese Canadian Museum.
TIP #4: If you ever want to really learn about local Chinese-Canadian culture, Chinatown and its history, consider going on a tour with Historical Chinatown Tours. They take place throughout the year. You can join one during the Lunar New Year season or later in the year.
Other Information
See our Vancouver Chinese New Year article for more details about what else to see and do in downtown Vancouver. Click Chinese New Year Activities to learn about events in other parts of the Lower Mainland. Click Light Up Chinatown Festival for information about Vancouver’s Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. See our Vancouver Chinese Restaurants article for ideas of good places to eat.
Visit the Chinese Canadian Museum in Chinatown to learn about the history of Chinese migration to Canada and the history of Chinese Canadians.
See the website Victoria’s Best Places. to learn about Chinatown in BC’s capital city.
