Nostalgia: Lions and Chinese pride

Published on Monday 31 January 2011 10:39

While Hogmanay may now feel like a memory from the dim and distant past for many of us, the party is only just beginning for the city's Chinese community.

Celebrations began on Thursday for Chinese New Year which, as these pictures demonstrate, has always been an eye-catching event in Edinburgh marked by dancing, music and great community spirit.

As was shown in 1981 when the year of the rooster was enjoyed at a party in the Assembly Rooms, where revellers danced to music from Lothian and Borders of Eastern promise

The following year, the city enjoyed the start of the year of the monkey as Chinese dancers, forming to create a giant lion, entertained onlookers outside the Playhouse.

There were similar scenes in 1971 as a Chinese lion made its way down Princes Street to celebrate the new year and the opening of the Hong Kong Chinese Association on the busy street.

Chinese New Year is the longest and most important festivity in the Chinese calendar.

It follows a 12-year cycle in which each year is marked by a different animal. 2011 is the year of the rabbit.