Both New Zealand’s Chinese community and the country’s greater population celebrate Chinese — or Lunar — New Year across the north and south island. Taking place in 2024 on Saturday the 10th of February, the festival is also known as the Chinese Spring Festival, and is a colourful occasion featuring family traditions, good food, and hope for good fortune.
For over 30 years, the Chinese Community Centre in Auckland has held an annual Chinese New Year celebration now known as the BNZ Lantern Festival. Running between February 22 and 25 in 2024, this is one of the most popular events in Auckland, and it attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually. Visitors flock to admire a display of over 500 lanterns, cultural displays, and a mesmerizing selection of food offerings.
To experience the festival in person, pick up a rental car at Auckland Airport and drive to the city from there. Head northwest on George Bolt Memorial Drive towards Manu Tapu Drive, then merge onto Highway 20 and take the exit to the city.
If you’re exploring New Zealand’s South Island, Dunedin’s Lan Yuan Dunedin Chinese Garden is a great place to welcome in the Year of the Dragon. Festivities include a dragon parade that runs from Princes Street to the Gardens starting at 7pm on February 10, and is followed by a Lion Dance, cultural performances, live music, and, at 10pm, a fireworks display.
If you are flying into Dunedin, you can pick up a rental car from Dunedin Airport, which lies just under 30 kilometres to the west of Dunedin.
Celebrate the Chinese New Year in style at the annual Lunar New Year Festival held in New Zealand’s capital city of Wellington on February 17-18, 2024. Organised by Lee Kum Kee and the Asian Events Trust, the event has been going strong for over 12 years and includes dragon dances, other cultural events, and a fireworks display.
Easily navigate your way around Wellington from the comfort of a rental car. You can collect one from the airport or one of the downtown depots.
Tourists and locals flock to Christchurch for Lunar New Year for the chance to savour a wide range of food, see lanterns, cultural performances, dragon dances, and a fireworks display. Running from February 9 to 11 in 2024, the events will take place at the Entertainment Triangle, North Hagley Park, in the centre of Christchurch and admission is free.
Fly into Christchurch Airport and drive to the CBD from there. Continue from Memorial Avenue to Park Terrace and make your way to Hereford Street in the heart of Christchurch.
Set roughly in the centre of New Zealand’s South Island, Lake Tekapo is a three-hour drive to the southwest of Christchurch and three hours to the northeast of Queenstown, and offers up the opportunity to experience Chinese New Year under the stars. This is one of the best places in New Zealand for stargazing, as Lake Tekapo sits at the centre of the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve.
Fly into Queenstown and drive north. Take Memorial Avenue to SH1 in Burnside and continue onto State Highway 79 in Rangitata, then State Highway 8 in Fairlie.
