Dragons roam Pattaya as city marks start of Chinese New Year
Dragons and lions roamed the city and firecrackers exploded from dawn ‘til after dusk as Pattaya spent two days celebrating Chinese New Year.
Thais of Chinese heritage - or those who simply love fireworks - made sure everyone was awake for the two-day festival by igniting M80s and larger poppers before the sun even broke the horizon Jan. 22. Shortly after, Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh began official commemoration of the “Year of the Dragon” with Pattaya’s traditional ceremony paying homage to city fathers King Taksin and Prince Chumphon at City Hall.
Atop Pratamnak Hill, professional actors symbolically chase away the year of the rabbit, bringing in the year of the water dragon. The Year of the Dragon is associated with the earthly branch symbol and is considered the luckiest year in the Chinese Zodiac. From all of us at the Pattaya Mail Media family - Kung Hei Fat Choi and hopefully this year will be lucky for you, too!
Ronakit next led revelers to the Sawang Boriboon Foundation headquarters in Naklua to the Chinese “Wai Jao” ceremony to pray to gods and ancestors for good luck. A lively circus of dancing dragons and lions then took the stage, moving out to various destinations around Pattaya afterward.
Similar tributes to gods and ancestors were made across the region on this first “pay homage” day of the new year festival. Prayer alters filled with meat dishes, sweets like fluffy rice flower cakes, steamed dumplings and fruit and even whiskey could be spotted in front of homes and shines across the area. Evil spirits were cast aside with long bursts of firecrackers.
Tributes to gods and ancestors are made across the region on this “pay homage” day of the new year festival.
On Jan. 23, the actual New Year’s day, youth teams carrying paper-and-fabric lions and dragons popped up pretty much everywhere, from Central Center to Central Festival, Royal Garden to Mike Shopping Mall, which filled its Second Road parking lot with Chinese-style enthusiasm. At Central Festival, which was also celebrating its third-year anniversary, youths chased away spirits with loud drumming and symbol crashing that could be heard five floors away.
The tireless lions danced until after dark along South Road, stopping for more drumming and a short fireworks burst at the intersection of Third Road before moving on to Walking Street just before 10 p.m. where throngs of shutterbugs jostled for the eye of the dragon and kids with tiny lion outfits ran through go-go bars for 20-baht notes.
Dancers at Lan Pho Public Park create a beautiful sight.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome brought festivities to a close at the city’s official event at Lan Po Park in Naklua, which was decked out with red lanterns, mini-dragon booths and a downsized replica of the Great Wall of China.
There were, of course, more dancing lions and dragons. But revelers were also treated to music, performing artists from the mainland and Taiwan, parade and Little Chinese Girl pageant.
A Chinese dancer entertains whilst judges make their decisions.
Pretty in blue, another beautiful young contestant works her magic in the Miss Chinese New Year.
A beautiful young contestant in the Miss Chinese New Year contest at Lan Pho Public Park.
The headdresses during the Miss Chinese New Year contest are spectacular.
Finalists in the Miss Chinese New Year line up on stage at Lan Pho Public Park.
Acrobats perform an exciting lion dance by the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel.
The fierce lion brigade chases away evil spirits on Walking Street.
Pa Yim - Sim Hua Roh: a lion care taker in the lion show group is always smiling; therefore he always creates liveliness and brings happiness to everyone.
Young Chinese dancers lead the parade down Walking Street.
Lions and a dragon dance in the Chinese New Year at Central Festival Pattaya Beach.
Chinese acrobats build a human sky scraper on Walking Street.
The entire Eng Kor Pa Bu dance troupe poses at Royal Garden Plaza.
These should scare away those pesky evil spirits for the year.
Lions and dragons pay homage to King Taksin the Great at City Hall.
Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome feeds the dragon for good luck.
Beautiful Chinese dragon art on display at Central Festival Pattaya Beach.
Eng Kor Pa Bu dancers, who upheld justice and fought against corruption in the Song dynasty, and became known as the “Righteous Bandits”, perform to this day.
The majestic dragon guards the entrance to Mike Shopping Mall.
Eng Kor Pa Bu dancers, representing all classes of Chinese society, were fabled to have robbed from the rich to feed the poor.
Lovely tourists have their photo taken with the dragon for good luck.
Tourists on Walking Street meet the mighty dragon.
The mighty dragon chases away evil spirits from the beginning to the end of Walking Street.
Death defying feats to welcome in the year of the dragon at Lan Pho Public Park.
