Thessaloniki to Celebrate New Chinese “Year of the Rat” at Royal Theater

Still photo from the performance of the spectacular Chinese show. Credit: AMNA

The northern Greek city of Thessaloniki will celebrate the new Chinese “Year of the Rat” on January 6th with a performance by one of China’s major dance companies – the Chongqing Liangjiang Art Troupe – at the city’s Royal Theater.

The evening will feature amazingly-talented Chinese acrobats and jugglers as well as a ballet and works from the Beijing Opera which will transport the audience to the splendor of the Orient by immersing them into a new world of color, motion and music.

This show, called “Happy Chinese New Year,” will mark the fourth time that the noted dance company has visited Greece’s second-largest city.

The show representing Beijing constitutes an example of the depth of the cultural interaction between Greece and China in the context of Greek-Chinese cultural exchange in recent years.

As part of their New Year traditions, Chinese people wear new clothes on that day to symbolize a new start and fresh hopes for the coming year. Their lucky color is red, which represents optimism and a festive attitude, according to ancient tradition.