Chinese New Year in Thailand 2027

Chinese New Year follows the lunar calendar, so it falls between late January and mid-February. In 2027 it's Saturday 6 February, after Tuesday 17 February in 2026, and the Year of the Horse gives way to the Year of the Goat.

Thai-Chinese families mark three days. Wan jai, the paying day, is the day before New Year's Eve, Thursday 4 February in 2027, when families shop for the offerings, so markets like Yaowarat and Sampheng are at their busiest. Wan wai, the worship day, is New Year's Eve, Friday 5 February, when families pay respect to their ancestors and the gods with food, incense and paper offerings at home and at the shrines. Wan tiao, the outing day, is New Year's Day itself, Saturday 6 February, when people dress in red, visit relatives and hand red envelopes of money, ang pao, to children and elders, and when many go out or travel.

In a normal year, Yaowarat Road is the center of it. The road closes to traffic around Odeon Circle and the Chinatown Gate, the street fills with lanterns, food stalls, lion and dragon dances and stage shows, and a member of the royal family, most often Princess Sirindhorn, has traditionally opened the festival. The crowds are huge, so come in the late afternoon, eat your way along the stalls and stay for the evening. Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, Bangkok's most important Chinese Buddhist temple, is packed with worshippers lighting incense for luck in the new year.

2026 was different. During the mourning for Queen Sirikit, the main street festival on Yaowarat wasn't held. Instead, the Tourism Authority of Thailand lit the road from Odeon Circle to the Chaloem Buri intersection every evening from 7 February to 1 March, 18:00–23:00, and moved its main program to the Siam Paragon mall. Whether the full street festival returns for 2027 will be announced in January, so check before you plan around it. The lanterns, the shrines and the food on Yaowarat make the trip worthwhile either way.

Wherever there's a Thai-Chinese community there's a celebration, with Chinese shrines busy with worshippers and lion dances in the streets. Phuket Old Town, whose Sino-Portuguese shophouses were built on Chinese tin-mining money, celebrates in the same streets as its Vegetarian Festival. Chiang Mai, Ayutthaya, Trang and Udon Thani hold parades too.

For most travelers it's an extra to enjoy rather than a disruption. It isn't a national holiday, so banks, offices, transport and tourist sights run as normal. In Chinatown, though, many family shops and some restaurants close for a few days around New Year, and Yaowarat is extremely crowded on the festival evenings. Chinese New Year is also a holiday across much of Asia, which brings a wave of visitors to Bangkok, so book your room early, and take the MRT to Chinatown rather than a taxi. Expect firecrackers near the shrines, and wear red if you want to join in.