The celebration of the Chinese New Year, which dates back more than 4,000 years, is algo present in Madrid. Each year, Madrid City Council joins in the Chinese New Year celebrations with an extensive programme of activities for all tastes and ages.
This programme is organised by the Department for Culture, Tourism and Sport and Usera District Council, with the collaboration of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese associations in Usera, artistic groups, neighbourhood associations, Casa Asia and the Confucio Institute in Madrid.
Historical data of the Chinese New Year
Historically, the New Year coincides with the beginning of the crop cycle. It bids farewell to winter and it welcomes a new season (this is why it's also known as the “Spring Festival”). In 2025, the start of the Year of the Snake will be on January 29th.
Usera is a district of Madrid (delimited by the Puente Praga, Paseo de Santa María de la Cabeza, Plaza de Fernández Ladreda - called Plaza Elíptica since 2017 - and national highway 401 -Madrid/Ciudad Real-). Geographically, it is made up of six neighborhoods (Orcasitas, Orcasur, San Fermín, Almendrales, Moscardó, Zofío and Pradolongo). It contains the highest concentration of the Chinese community in Spain. In the capital of Madrid alone there are, according to the City Council's registry, 35,985 Chinese residents (register of 2022). A quarter of them live in the Usera district, where they maintain their customs and ancient traditions. It is a kind of “Chinatown” integrated into a popular neighborhood in the south of Madrid.
For example, it is easy to see this in the great profusion of existing Chinese businesses, and you can see members the Usera Chinese Senior Center playing ping pong or rehearsing traditional music. Members usually meet in the afternoons there.
In the last years, it has also become fashionable for its shops, restaurants and festivals that give color to this area south of Matadero Madrid and Madrid Río. An intense cultural life has emerged, especially in relation to contemporary art.
Popular Chinese New Year festivities
The two most awaited moments in Madrid are the Chinese New Year Party (on Saturday 25 Jan or 1 Feb in 2025), with music in the small temple at Pradolongo Park followed by a sensational firework display lighting up the sky and the lake, and the Chinese New Year Multicultural Parade (on Sunday 26 Jan or 2 Feb in 2025), which fills the Usera neighbourhood with magic, outfits brought from China, gigantic dragons and lions, iconographic elements of the Asian country, lanterns made by children and live music.
Some of Usera’s restaurants allow you to discover the true and spectacular traditional Chinese cuisine. They offer the best varieties, from Cantonese cuisine to Sichuan cuisine, including Yunnan and Shanghai. The Royal Cantonés (Calle Olvido, 92) stands out, specializing in Cantonese Chinese food. Since opening in 2009, they have more than ten years of experience preparing the best dishes of Cantonese Chinese cuisine. Offering everything from jellyfish and tendons, to duck and lotus roots, all the way to Dim Sum. Hong Kong 70 in Chinatown (Calle Nicolás Sánchez Street, 11) has also the most traditional dishes of Cantonese cuisine. Its menu is very extensive and includes the star dishes of Hong Kong cuisine, such as roasts and Hong Kong Style duck.
At the Lao Tou restaurant (Calle Nicolás Sánchez, 35) you can taste typical Sichuanese and Cantonese cuisine, ideal for people who want to try new flavors and textures. At Picante de Sichuán (Calle Dolores Barranco, 10) you can try really spicy food, with a menu that highlights its shaokao or twice-cooked pork.
Cultural initiatives
Some cultural initiatives taking place in various centres in the area. Art exhibitions in the hall and exhibition hall of the Junta Municipal de Usera. On the other hand, parades full of colour and textures. Also language courses for those who are interested in taking Chinese classes.
Since autumn 2022, the neighborhood has a sculpture of a panda bear donated by the district's Chinese community. A figure considered a national treasure of China. Has traveled tens of thousands of kilometers to become a testimony of the friendship and harmony between both peoples. The work is carved in marble and sits on a granite base. It is one meter high and weighs 500 kilos. It can be visited at the confluence of La Pilarica and Julio Merino streets. As a testimony of the historical links between Spain and China.
