Happy Chinese New Year event draws longest lines at Smithsonian festival

A "Happy Chinese New Year" cultural event hosted by the Chinese Embassy in the United States and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art on Saturday was a top attraction at the Smithsonian's Year of the Horse celebrations at the Arts and Industries Building, with China's booth generating the day's longest lines.

The event is part of the museum's 2026 festival celebrating the arrival of spring and the start of a new year on the lunisolar calendar. The festival also showcased performances, educational displays, food vendors, and craft makers from other Asian countries.

Inside the building, visitors at times formed double queues at China's display area. Many waited to make New Year print rubbings and try their hand at calligraphy, especially writing the "fu" character — commonly associated with happiness or blessings and often hung on doors or walls during the Spring Festival.

The Happy Chinese New Year event combined cultural performances with folk-culture exhibits, demonstrations of intangible cultural heritage and hands-on activities aimed at giving hundreds of visitors an immersive experience of Spring Festival traditions.

Among the visitors was Laura, who said she grew up in San Francisco around large Asian communities and came to the festival because "Lunar New Year always means we think of home."

She slipped on a red Chinese-style dress at the event and posed for photos, holding a Chinese knot and a toy giant panda.

Another visitor, David, who said he is from Woodbridge, Virginia, came with his family so his daughter could connect her Mandarin classes with real-life culture.

"She's learning Mandarin in school, so we want to show her what it's all about," he told China Daily.

Displays at the Chinese booth included lanterns and paper-cutting, along with Year of the Horse-themed items.

Artists from the Chinese Painting Institute of Jiangsu Province wrote calligraphy on site and handed out "fu" characters to visitors.

A student arts troupe from the High School Affiliated to Renmin University of China presented a mix of chamber music, choir, martial arts, aerobics and hip-hop.

Air China, China's flag-carrier airline, blended Spring Festival cultural displays with its services and promoted tourism under a Hello! China campaign.

On Feb 20, a Happy Chinese New Year celebration was held at the Planet Word Museum in Washington, DC. The embassy also said New Year celebrations took place at the Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater from Feb 20 to 22, and at the Francis Scott Key Auditorium at St. John's College on Feb 22.