Chinese New Year parade returns to celebrate year of the tiger

Thousands gathered in Chinatown to partake in the first in-person cultural festivities since 2020

Feb 21, 2022

Thousands of people attended the Chinese New Year Parade with friends and families on Saturday in Chinatown.

The Chinese New Year Festival and Parade, organized through the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, started on Jan. 29 and ends on March 6 to celebrate the Year of the Tiger.

The Year of the Tiger symbolizes resilience and strength, and many hope that this will represent the end of struggles that AAPI communities faced during the pandemic with rising anti-Asian hate crimes and economic hardship.

One after another lion dancers, performances, sponsors and city officials such as Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Aaron Peskin, participated in the 1.3 mile-long parade. The parade marks the first time the parade has happened since 2020.

Albert Chang, a kite shop owner in Chinatown, said the parade attracts a lot of people from all over the Bay Area and is good for struggling businesses. He said the community street fair, an event held on the same day in the afternoon with more than 120 vendors, brought thousands of people back to Chinatown.

Chinese New Year is celebrated for over 15 days with family gatherings, exchanging gifts and red envelopes, eating meals together and watching the parade.

Henry Hao attended the parade for the first time with his girlfriend and friends. He said he would come back again next year with his family.

The parade that started at Market and 2nd streets headed toward Union Square and ended at Kearny Street and Columbus Avenue in Chinatown, with the final performance of the 268-foot long golden dragon.

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About the Contributors

Sabita Shrestha

Sabita Shrestha is the Xpress visuals editor for Spring 2022. She is finishing her last semester at SF State with a major in Photojournalism and minor in Labor Studies. Originally from Nepal, Shrestha came in the U.S. for an undergraduate degree in 2016 and transferred to SF State in 2019. Apart from student life, she enjoys reading, hiking, and having days off.

Matthew Cardoza, Copy Editor

Matthew Cardoza (he/him) is the copy editor for Golden Gate Xpress. He is majoring in journalism and minoring in political science. He was born and raised in San Francisco, and still lives in the city. He was previously a part of The Guardsman, the campus newspaper of City College of San Francisco. Matthew likes to write about politics, culture and interesting events on and off campus. In his free time, he likes to drive around San Francisco, rock climb, play video games and hike in the wilderness.