The city’s tourism bureau director, Montree Piyakul, stated that people attending the event would be able to enjoy various Thai and Chinese cultural shows, bespoke exhibitions and the Miss Chiang Mai-China Beauty Pageant. He continued by saying that visitors would also have the chance of sampling signature culinary delicacies from the two countries.
The director recently announced that the decision to stage the festival had been made as a direct response to the soaring numbers of Chinese visiting Thailand. At the time he also said that festival organisers hoped to entice more Chinese nationals into enjoying Chiang Mai’s unique charms.
Although this will be the debut Chiang Mai Chinese Festival, the city’s sizable ethnic Chinese population does mark the traditional Chinese New Year Festival every year with dragon dances and fireworks. The focus of the celebrations for the new year is in the old Chinatown district around Warorot Market.
Chiang Mai prepares for Chinese festival debut
News in Asia
The northern Thai city of Chiang Mai is getting ready to hold its very first Chinese festival. The festival is scheduled to begin later today and will conclude tomorrow, 18 October. The venue for the celebrations and events is the central plaza adjacent to the historic Tha Phae Gate.