From the 15th to 24th February, Dubai residents are invited to welcome in the Chinese New Year 2018 at the world-renowned Atlantis, The Palm. From special menu’s and exciting performances to lion dances and Chinese gifts, Chinese New Year celebrations, also known as the Spring Festival is the time to reunite with friends and family and bring forth good luck for the year to come.

YUAN

Guests are invited to celebrate the Chinese New Year at one of Dubai’s hottest and most exclusive Chinese restaurants, YUAN. Throughout the 15th to 24th February, YUAN’s team of expert chefs have crafted a special a la carte menu for dinner, giving diners the chance to sample an array of Chinese favourites including “Yu Sheng” salmon salad served with snow pear for AED 128 or the perfectly stir-fried lobster seasoned with ginger and spring onion for AED 300.

On the Friday 16thand Friday 23rd February, YUAN’s renowned Yum Cha brunch will ramp up activity in celebrartion of Chinese New Year, serving an exotic array of dim sum, Chinese favourites and fragrant eclectic cocktails from 12:00pm to 3:30pm. The brunch starts at 198 AED per person with non-alcoholic beverages, 408 AED per person with alcoholic beverages and 108 AED for children 4-11 years’ old.

Saffron

Over the Chinese New Year period, all day dining restaurant Saffron will present contemporary Chinese dishes within a vibrantly bold, contemporary setting featuring theatrical cooking stations. Diners can expect to experience live cooking noodle station, a Dim Sum carousel, a selection of Chinese soups, Chinese roast & steam and a Lok-Lok station. The Chinese New Year offering at Saffron will be available every evening, 15th to 24th February from 6pm to 11:30pm. Guests can dine for AED 225 per adult and for children aged between 4 to 11 years old for AED 67.50. For diners staying at the resort during this period there is a half board offer of AED 135 per adult.

Kaleidoscope

Over the Chinese New Year period, all day dining restaurant Kaleidoscope will brings the very best of Asian and Chinese cuisine, featuring dishes such as steamed dory fillets with ginger soya, peppered chicken with pak choi and char siu beef rib, as well as live stations including Asian noodle soup and a Dim Sum carousel. Guests can dine for lunch at AED 185 per person from Sunday to Thursday. On the weekend the offer is available for AED 215 including water and soft drinks.

Asia Republic

Atlantis, The Palm’s casual dining restaurant, Asia Republic, is set in a vibrant venue which focuses on fun and sharing. Its team of chefs have compiled an exclusive a la carte menu to celebrate Chinese New Year, featuring dishes such as the wok fried jumbo prawns for AED 138 and the Cantonese style stir fried ginger beef for AED 68. This menu will be available throughout the Chinese New Year promotion period between 12pm to 10pm.

Lion Dance Performance

From Thursday 15th-Friday 16th February, the popular Lion Dance will take place throughout the resort. A form of traditional dance in Chinese culture , the Lion Dance see’s performers mimic a lion’s movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune to all who watch it.

• Asia Republic: 7:15pm – 7:20pm
• Kaleidoscope: 7:25pm – 7:30pm
• Saffron: 8:10pm – 8:20pm
• YUAN: 8:30pm – 8:35pm

A few facts you didn’t know about Chinese New Year

1. The festival date changes every year. This is because it follows the lunar calendar, based on the movement of the moon. In 2018, Chinese New Year falls on February 16

2. It is also called Spring Festival. The festival usually falls after the solar term in the beginning of Spring (Li Chun)

3. Chinese New Year starts a new animal’s zodiac year. In China, each lunar cycle has 60 years and 12 years is regarded as a small cycle. Each of the 12 years is defined by an animal sign: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. 2018 is the Year of the Dog.

4. The celebration lasts for 15 days until Lantern Festival. The peak time of the entire celebration is on Chinese New Year’s Eve and the first day of the lunar new year. The 15th day is called Lantern Festival, marking the end of the celebration.

5. One sixth of the world’s people celebrate it. It is not only celebrated in Mainland China, but also observed in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Singapore and some other Asian countries as well as Chinatowns around the world.

6. It is the longest public holiday and the whole country is on the move. Most employees have 7-12 days off the work, and students have one month winter vacation. The 2018 Chinese New Year holiday is from February 15th to 21st.

7. No matter where they are, people try their best to return home for a family reunion, like westerners attempting to spend Christmas with their families. This makes the world’s largest annual migration, known as the Spring Festival Travel Rush. The total trips made by plane, train, bus and ship can reach nearly 3 billion.

8. Reunion dinner is a ritual. The reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve is a big feast to commemorate the past year. This is the most important time to be with families.

9. Then comes the annual largest usage of fireworks on the planet. Fireworks are an indispensable part of the celebration to liven up the air of Spring Festival. All families set off fireworks to celebrate the festival.

10. The celebration decorations are mostly in red. Houses are decorated with red couplets, red lanterns, and red paper cuttings; city streets are lit up by red lanterns; and numerous people are dressed in red. This is because red in Chinese culture is the symbol of happiness, wealth and prosperity, and can ward off evil spirits and bring good luck. These red decorations are to the festival what Christmas trees are to Christmas.

11. Guo Nian Hao” is one of the most used Chinese New Year greetings. This is like the westerners saying “Merry Christmas” to each other on Christmas Day. It means “Happy New Year”