The Chinatown Gate at Odeon Circle, the start of Yaowarat Road. Photo above: Mark S via Google
Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday, February 6, 2027, the first day of the Year of the Goat, with New Year's Eve on Friday, February 5. In Bangkok the celebration centres on Yaowarat Road in Chinatown and on Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, the city's largest Chinese Buddhist temple, with lights, lion and dragon dances, temple offerings and food stalls. As of October 7, 2026, neither the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) nor the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) had announced a 2027 Yaowarat programme, so this guide describes the 2025 and 2026 celebrations.
Facts come from TAT, the BMA's public relations office, the Government Public Relations Department, the Hong Kong government's gazetted 2027 holiday list (for the lunar date) and the Bank of Thailand, read on October 7, 2026. Check TAT and the BMA again in January.
When is Chinese New Year 2027 in Bangkok?
Lunar New Year's Day is Saturday, February 6, 2027. Chinese New Year is not a Thai public holiday: it does not appear on the Bank of Thailand's 2027 holiday list, so banks, offices and transit run normally. Bangkok's festival dates are set each year by the organisers and have not always matched the lunar date exactly, as the table shows.
| Year | Lunar New Year | Yaowarat street festival | Lights and other Bangkok events |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | January 29 | January 29 and 30, noon to midnight, on Yaowarat Road | Yaowarat lights January 19 to February 9; centralwOrld events January 28 to February 2 |
| 2026 | February 17 | Planned for February 17 and 18; cancelled by the organising committee | Yaowarat lights February 7 to March 1, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.; main TAT programme at Siam Paragon February 14 to 18 |
| 2027 | February 6 | Not announced as of October 7, 2026 | Not announced |
The organising committee cancelled the 2026 street festival because its dates fell within the official national mourning period for Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother; the festive lighting on Yaowarat Road and TAT's programme at Siam Paragon went ahead. A full street festival in 2027 is likely to be confirmed in January, but treat it as unconfirmed until the BMA announces it.
What happens on Yaowarat Road at Chinese New Year?
The 2025 festival is the best guide to a full programme. The BMA announced it with TAT, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Samphanthawong District and the local cultural council, and staged it along Yaowarat Road from noon to midnight on January 29 and 30. It had:
- two main stages, at Odeon Circle and the Ratchawong intersection, with Chinese and Thai-Chinese performers and troupes from China;
- a new Chinatown Market Chalermburi with food and retail stalls and an exhibition on 50 years of Thai-Chinese diplomatic relations;
- shrines and rituals for paying homage to Chinese deities;
- an opening ceremony at 5 p.m. on January 29 at Odeon Circle, at the Chinatown Gate, presided over by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn and broadcast live on television.
TAT describes the street celebration as red lanterns and banners, lion and dragon dances believed to ward off evil spirits, and drums, gongs and cymbals, with many visitors wearing red for good fortune. Because the 2025 festival was staged on the road itself, expect Yaowarat Road to be closed to traffic on festival days; we did not find the published 2025 traffic order, so check the BMA or police notice for 2027 closures and times. The festive lighting runs for weeks around the festival, and in 2026 it was lit daily from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m..
Chinese New Year at Yaowarat is a joint Thai and Chinese effort: China's ambassador said at TAT's 2025 launch that the two countries have organised Chinese New Year celebrations in Thailand together since 2004.
Which temples should you visit at Chinese New Year?
Wat Mangkon Kamalawat on Charoen Krung Road, also called Wat Leng Noei Yi, is Bangkok's largest Chinese Buddhist temple and, TAT says, a centre of festivities at Chinese New Year and during the Vegetarian Festival. It holds Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian shrines under dragon-topped roofs. A 2026 Thammasat University study dates its construction to the reign of King Rama V in 1871, laid out on Teochew Chinese architectural principles, with three Buddha images representing the Buddhas of the past, present and future.
TAT says temples and shrines see a surge of visitors at New Year as people seek blessings for the year ahead, so arrive early in the morning if you want to see the temple before the crowd. Our Yaowarat guide covers the other temples and sights in Chinatown, including the Golden Buddha.
What do people eat at Chinese New Year in Bangkok?
TAT lists dim sum, roast duck and nian gao (sticky rice cake) among the festival foods sold on Yaowarat. At home, Thai-Chinese families gather on New Year's Eve for a reunion dinner, with fish for abundance, noodles for long life and dumplings for wealth, and give hongbao, red envelopes of money, to younger relatives. Offerings at shrines often mix Thai fruits and dishes with Chinese ones.
For the street food that Yaowarat serves every evening, see our Bangkok street food guide and Bangkok night markets. Yaowarat is also Bangkok's gold-shop street; our guide to Yaowarat's gold shops explains how pricing works.
How do you get to Yaowarat for Chinese New Year?
Take the MRT. Wat Mangkon station, on the Blue Line under Charoen Krung Road, opened in 2019 as part of the line's extension through the old city, and TAT describes it as in the heart of Chinatown, within a comfortable walk of Wat Mangkon Kamalawat. Hua Lamphong, the stop before it, is also close to Chinatown. Our guide to getting to Chinatown by MRT, BTS and boat compares the routes, including the river boats.
Rail is the simplest way in on festival nights, when the festival occupies Yaowarat Road.
Tips for the crowds
- Expect a busy week across Thailand. TAT expected about 1.25 million international visitors over the 2026 Chinese New Year travel period, February 13 to 22, plus 2.3 million domestic trips.
- Split your visit. Go to Wat Mangkon Kamalawat in the morning, then come back after 6 p.m. for the lights and food.
- Watch your bag. The UK government's Thailand advice tells visitors to carry cash and valuables securely against pickpocketing and to watch for bag-snatchers; see our Is Bangkok safe guide.
Where else in Bangkok celebrates Chinese New Year?
TAT has also staged indoor and mall-based programmes alongside Yaowarat. In 2026 the main programme was at Siam Paragon from February 14 to 18, daily from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., opening with a Thai-Chinese greeting ceremony. It had large lantern displays, performances by troupes from Beijing, Chongqing, Henan and Fujian, Thai pop acts, and hands-on stalls for lantern making, calligraphy, khon mask painting and paper cutting. In 2025 the equivalent was at the outdoor square of centralwOrld from January 28 to February 2, with a Thailand-China blessing ceremony, troupes from Xinjiang, Zhejiang and Yunnan, crafts and a food market. TAT also listed ICONSIAM and other Central Group malls among its 2026 partners.
The biggest celebrations outside Bangkok are in Nakhon Sawan, with its Pak Nam Pho dragon procession, Hat Yai in Songkhla and Suphan Buri. They are separate trips, not Bangkok neighbourhoods.
Where should you stay for Chinese New Year?
Staying in or near Chinatown puts you within walking distance of the festival at night and the temple in the morning. A hotel on the Chao Phraya is the other option, linked by river boat or the MRT; see the best riverside hotels in Bangkok and our where to stay in Bangkok guide.
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What else is on in Bangkok in February 2027?
Makha Bucha Day, a Buddhist holy day, falls on Sunday, February 21, 2027, with the bank holiday on Monday, February 22, according to the Bank of Thailand. The Bangkok Art Biennale runs until February 28, 2027. Our February in Bangkok guide has the weather and more ideas for the month.
Sources: GovHK, general holidays for 2027, Hong Kong Observatory, 2027 Gregorian-lunar calendar, Bank of Thailand, financial institutions holidays 2027, BMA Public Relations Office, Yaowarat Chinese New Year 2025, TAT Newsroom, Chinese New Year 2025 launch, TAT Newsroom, Chinese New Year 2025 events, Chaipattana Foundation, 2025 opening, Government PR Department, 2026 cancellation, Government PR Department, Chinese New Year 2026 events, TAT Newsroom, Chinese New Year 2026, TAT Newsroom, Chinese New Year traditions, TAT Newsroom, new MRT stations, Thanachattanon, Thammasat University, 2026, UK FCDO Thailand safety. Checked October 7, 2026.
Lunar New Year's Day is Saturday, February 6, 2027, with New Year's Eve on February 5. The dates of Bangkok's Yaowarat street festival had not been announced when we checked on October 7, 2026; in 2025 it ran on the first two days of the new year.
No. It is not on the Bank of Thailand's 2027 holiday list, so banks, offices, the BTS and the MRT run normally.
Yaowarat Road in Chinatown, with its lights, stages and food stalls, and Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, the city's largest Chinese Buddhist temple. Malls such as centralwOrld and Siam Paragon also host TAT-supported programmes.
The 2026 street festival, planned for February 17 and 18, was cancelled because it fell within the national mourning period for Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother. The Yaowarat lights and TAT's programme at Siam Paragon went ahead. No 2027 decision had been announced when we checked.
Take the MRT Blue Line to Wat Mangkon station on Charoen Krung Road, which TAT describes as in the heart of Chinatown and within a comfortable walk of Wat Mangkon Kamalawat.
TAT lists dim sum, roast duck and nian gao, a sticky rice cake, among the Yaowarat festival foods. Family reunion dinners traditionally include fish for abundance, noodles for long life and dumplings for wealth.
In 2025 Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the opening ceremony at Odeon Circle on January 29.