Manila is gearing up for the Chinese New Year with a series of road closures and celebratory events. The Manila Public Information Office (MPIO) has announced that several roads will be closed starting Tuesday to facilitate the festivities. The Binondo-Intramuros Bridge will be inaccessible from 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, while other key routes like Jones Bridge, Quintin Paredes Street, Plaza Cervantes, and the Binondo-Intramuros Bridge will be closed starting at 9 p.m. the same day. Alternative routes have been suggested for motorists to navigate around these closures, ensuring smooth traffic flow during the celebrations.
The city’s Chinese New Year festivities will be led by Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna and China Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian. The highlight of the event will be the lighting of the Filipino-Chinese Friendship Arch, which symbolizes the strong bond between Manila and the Chinese-Filipino community. This ceremony is scheduled for 10 p.m. Tuesday, followed by the lighting of four other arches across the city.
Following the arch lighting, Mayor Lacuna and Ambassador Huang will proceed to Jones Bridge for a special program leading up to the midnight countdown to the Chinese New Year on Wednesday. The countdown will be accompanied by a spectacular fireworks display and a drone show, expected to draw a large crowd including city officials and representatives from Manila’s Chinese-Filipino organizations.
The celebrations will continue with a grand thanksgiving parade around the Manila Chinatown area at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, also led by Lacuna and Huang. The festivities kicked off last Friday with Mayor Lacuna lighting the Prosperity Tree at Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz, marking the beginning of the Chinese New Year celebrations in Manila.