Parade and The Fairytale of Lights Brightens Festive Atmosphere
This year, the ingenious ‘Monkey King’ event kicked off a Parade featuring more than 1,000 performers
‘Cinderella’s Glass Slipper’ 3D mapping show transported CNY celebrants into a world of fairytale lights
The grand outdoor event welcoming the Chinese New Year - 'Parade for the Celebration of the Year of the Monkey' held on the 10th and 13th February - presented an array of fascinating highlights for local citizens and visitors from around the world in celebration of the Spring Festival. A splendid programme was rolled out including a themed multimedia opening show, fabulous float parade involving over 1,000 performers, famous Hong Kong and Macao singers, spectacular fireworks, local display of floats, and much more, infusing the city with festive vibes that resonated with capacity crowds.
This year, the event - themed 'The Monkey King' - kicked off a Parade held under four major performance themes; namely, 'Fortune Stars to the World'; 'Great Treasures on their way'; 'Rhythm of Lucky Blessings' and 'Prosperity & Success fills the Year'. The Parade featured 14 stunning floats, 28 local groups and a total of nine performing groups from places as diverse as Mainland China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Portugal, Spain and the United States.
In addition, Macao Government Tourism Office presented 'Valentine's Day Fantasia 2016 - The Fairytale of Lights', staged in the environs of the Taipa Houses-Museum in tandem with numerous nearby attractions in Taipa from 7th to 29th February, a period embracing Valentine's Day, the 7th day of the Lunar New Year known as the 'Human's Birthday', as well as the Chinese Lantern Festival, a traditional occasion celebrated by Chinese lovers throughout the centuries.
Light installations were also enjoyed at more than ten locations throughout the city, along with a 3D mapping show titled 'Cinderella's Glass Slipper' in addition to an interactive game inviting spectators to travel through time and step into an imaginary world of romantic fairytales on Western and Eastern Valentine's Day.
Spring Festival Visitation Up on Last Year
The 7th to 13th February was the peak tourist period of this year's Lunar New Year Golden Week in Macao, attracting 1,076,611 visitors. During this period, the Greater China market accounted for 94.4 per cent of the one million visitors the city welcomed, representing a 4.7 per cent increase on the same period last year. The nearly 800,000 Mainland visitors accounted for 73 per cent of the total, some 4.3 per cent more than the previous year.
The number of visitors from the Taiwan region increased the most, up 42.7 per cent with 24,000 visitors, while more than 190,000 visitors arrived from neighbouring Hong Kong, an increase of 2.6 per cent. To round out a successful start to the year, the international market accounted for 60,000 visitors, an increase of 4.4 per cent compared with the same period last year.