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Tag: Chinese New Year

  • Celebrate Chinese New Year at the EM District with a giant flying dragon

    Celebrate Chinese New Year at the EM District with a giant flying dragon

    Ever wondered what would happen if you combined Chinese New Year with Game of Thrones? The EM Disctrict did, and the result is the world’s first 40 meter long flying dragon hovering over EmQuartier. Come gasp at its 10 meter tall head. Go gape at its humongous mirrored body.

    The majestic dragon, along with a Thai Hanuman monkey god, comes to life in performances of light, color, music and sound every day at 7pm and 8pm from Friday February 5, 2016 to Monday February 8, 2016.

    Legend has it that whoever lays eyes on the dragon will have good luck. (Good luck, more money, more shopping.) And good luck will come in handy indeed with all the giveaways going on.

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    Spend 2,000 THB at participating stores, or 1,000 THB at the Dining Hall, and you could win 1 kilogram of gold. There are 9 kilograms to be won worth a total of 1.2 million THB. And with a Platinum M Card and True You membership you have an even bigger chance of winning.

    Be one of the first 1,000 people to spend 1,000 THB at restaurants at Emporium and EmQuartier and you’ll receive a special Fortune Cookie and a chance to win even more cash and vouchers.

    Plus, each day, the first 30 people will be eligible for a special fortune telling session with the famous Ajarn Han and Ajarn Panupong.

    As part of the celebration, the ground floor of EmQuartier has been turned into a chic and bustling Chinese Outdoor Market. Here you’ll find delicious Chinese food and snacks and all the CNY merch you could ask for. Stock up on special dishes and Chinese goodies. And with the cold weather we’ve been having it will feel even more like an open-air market in Hong Kong of Shanghai.

    Be sure to take a lucky selfie and EmQuartier’s lucky waterfall while you’re there. Ok it’s just a normal waterfall but it’s a great selfie spot anyway.

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    Feeling lucky yet? Head on over to experience the Chinese Chronicle 2016 at EmQuartier and Emporium during the entire month of February. Don’t miss the Flying Dragon performances though. The show starts at 7pm and 8pm and will only go until Monday February 8, 2016.

    For more information check out The Em Disctrict’s Facebook page.

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  • Bangkok gets set for Chinese New Year

    Bangkok gets set for Chinese New Year

    Dig out your red clothes, hang up paper lanterns and pick up some firecrackers — Chinese New Year is returning to Bangkok.

    The biggest celebrations will take place on Yaowarat Road in the heart of Chinatown, with cultural displays, dance and musical performances to usher in the Year of the Monkey.

    Kicking off on Feb. 7, the Chinatown festivities will also feature lantern decorations, dragon parades and lion dances, street stalls selling Chinese cuisine and souvenirs, and entertainment from famous artists, including troupes and performers from China.

    Visanu Jaroensilp, Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) deputy governor for Tourism Products and Business said: “Thailand’s celebrations to mark the 2016 Chinese New Year will be even more special, as this is a significant year for the country. 

    “This year marks the 41st year of Sino-Thai diplomatic relations, and the 12th anniversary of cooperation between TAT and the Chinese Ministry of Culture in co-hosting the Chinese New Year celebrations in Thailand.”

    TAT estimates a boost in tourism revenue from the celebrations,  with about 1.01 million international tourists are expected to visit from Feb. 6-14. 

    Of those vistorss, an estimated 476,000 are expected to come from countries with Chinese communities including China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

    For more details on Chinese New Year celebrations throughout the country, visit the TAT website.

  • Major retailers prepare campaigns for Chinese New Year

    Major retailers prepare campaigns for Chinese New Year

    The Mall Group will celebrate Chinese New Year with a variety of activities and promotions to boost customer spending. The company projects the campaign to generate Bt2.5 billion in sales.

    Chamnarn Maytaprechakul, executive vice president of The Mall Group, said that towards the end of 2015, customer spending improved. During the final two months, the Consumer Confidence Index was the highest in eight months, fuel prices had declined, tourist numbers increased, and the government provided a year-end tax break.

    The Mall Group saw a 20-per-cent sales increase during the seven-day tax-break period, which helped the company reach its annual sales goal of Bt52 billion, 4-per-cent growth compared with 2014. “For 2016, we expect consumer spending momentum to continue, especially with Chinese New Year, an important celebration in Thailand that is just as popular as [January 1] New Year and Songkran. Spending during Chinese New Year is no less than Bt50 billion,” Chamnarn said.

    Robinson Department Store targets growth of 8 per cent year on year in the first quarter of this year as its “Robinson Chinese New Year” campaign welcomes the Year of Monkey. Shoppers will receive a red packet of discounts worth Bt1,200 for every Bt1,000 of spending. Prosperity-boosting and cultural activities in the Chinese tradition will also be in place.

    Sompong Rungnirattisai, chief commercial officer of Tesco Lotus, said Chinese New Year was an important occasion for a large number of people in Thailand. He said Tesco Lotus wanted to make the celebration affordable for customers as they were facing a challenging economic situation.

    “We have invested more than Bt250 million to bring down the prices of fresh food items by up to 46 per cent when compared with last year. We are also offering several cash coupons to help customers save during the season.

    “In addition, we have prepared special gifts for customers. Those spending Bt600 or more at Tesco Lotus will instantly receive a Chinese New Year red envelope containing special discounts on 50 items, worth a combined Bt4,400. Customers who spend Bt400 or more can redeem a lucky monkey doll at a special price of Bt159, down from the full price of Bt299,” he said.

    Siam Piwat Co, operator of Siam Paragon and Siam Center, together with Muang Thai Life Assurance, Kasikornbank and Advanced Info Service, has announced “Siam Prosperous Chinese New Year 2016”, a campaign to celebrate Chinese New Year and greet the Asean Economic Community. The campaign, to be held from February 3 to March 13 in Siam Paragon and Siam Center, will provide discounts of up to 80 per cent, lucky red envelopes and many other privileges, said Chanisa Kaewruen, Siam Piwat deputy managing director for marketing events and business relations.

    Central Pattana (CPN), Thailand’s largest retail developer and operator of CentralWorld, CentralPlaza and CentralFestival, along with their business partners, has invested Bt40 million in a campaign named “The Great Chinese New Year” to be held from February 5-29.

    Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, executive vice president for marketing at CPN, said the company understood the needs of the new generation of Thai-Chinese customers and what they want during this festive season. They have more purchasing power than in the past and tend to be selective and require a certain standard of quality in the products and services they receive.

    At Big C Supercenter outlets, red packets of shopping discounts have been offered since mid-January. As well, shoppers get the chance of winning gold prizes every day until February 8, Chinese New Year’s Day.

    Future Park, the largest mall in Rangsit area, also launch an event called ‘Sweetest Moment of Chinese New Year’, between February 5 and 14, in which more than 1,000 shops within the complex will offer promotional sale of up to 80 per cent discount.

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  • Hong Kong airport launches Chinese New Year promotions

    Hong Kong airport launches Chinese New Year promotions

    Hong Kong International airport (HKIA) is to offer various promotions including cash redemptions of up to HK$5,000 ($640)  in celebration of the upcoming Chinese New Year.

    From February 4 to February 15, travellers spending over HK$2,000, HK$5,000, HK$10,000 and HK$50,000 by electronic payment can redeem HKIA cash-coupons of HK$100, HK$300, HK$700 and HK$5,000 respectively. During the campaign period, designated retailers at HKIA will also offer free red packet redemption on a first-come-first-served basis.

    HKIA’s mascot will dress in the Year of the Monkey costume at T1 and distribute specially designed Fai Chuns for free.

    In departures east hall level six, travellers will find a grand display box with a selection of Chinese New Year products and an interactive-game booth. Passengers with boarding passes and any purchase receipt from HKIA can participate in the game. Among the 12,000 prizes are suitcases, massagers and necklaces, along with HKIA cash-coupons and HKIA red packets.

    Travellers spending over HK$1,000 in a single transaction at HKIA can enjoy free local delivery service. Free delivery service to Mainland China, Macao and Taiwan is also offered to travellers spending over HK$2,500 on clothing bags and accessories in a single transaction.

    Those interested in Chinese New Year traditions will also be treated to various music performances during the festive period including the lion dance.

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  • Alibaba Lunar New Year retail blitz planned

    Alibaba Lunar New Year retail blitz planned

    Alibaba plans to piggyback on the biggest celebration on the Chinese calendar – Lunar New Year – in the hopes of establishing another e-shopping tradition.

    Set to start in mid-January in the run-up to Chinese New Year, which falls on February 8 this year, theAlibaba Lunar New Year blitz – dubbed Ali Chinese New Year Shopping Festival – will have a different (and arguably less feverish) feel to it compared with the sprawling and competitive 11.11 sale, according to Alibaba.

    The company says its goal for the event is to use eCommerce to encourage two-way trade between China’s urban and rural areas, featuring discounted holiday products for the home, gifts, clothing and particularly food and agricultural products, in keeping with the spirit of a time when family members come together once a year for a celebratory feast.

    “Chinese New Year is the most significant celebration through the year and is a time to maintain traditions,” said Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang at a recent kick-off event.

    By hosting the sale, “we aim to enable rural customers to access an extensive range of New Year goods from home and abroad, while making agriculture products from rural China more available among urban customers.”

    To that end, the event will be promoted heavily by Rural Taobao, an arm of Alibaba Group which focuses on rural eCommerce, as well as main Alibaba shopping marketplaces Taobao Marketplace,Tmall.com and Juhuasuan. During the sale, Alibaba will for the first time bring more than 500 premium overseas brands to China’s hinterlands via Rural Taobao, which facilitates online shopping and home delivery through more than 10,000 rural service centers in villages across China. Rural customers in some villages will be able to buy foods from 25 countries, including American crawfish, Alaska black cod, Russian king crab, Canadian lobster, Australian beefsteak, French wine and British tea.

    Meanwhile, Alibaba’s cross-border shopping channel, Tmall Global, will work with eight country pavilions (online shops offering national specialty products) and eight major supermarkets, department stores and duty-free shops to provide quality goods from around the world. International retailers including Macy’s, Costco, Metro and King Power will join the promotion.

    Alibaba Group executive chairman Jack Ma said the festival is geared not only to offer rural Chinese a chance to buy merchandise that is unavailable in their local shops. It is also meant to boost regional economies by helping farmers generate more income by selling their produce directly to consumers over the Internet.

    “The 11.11 Shopping Festival is designed for netizens,” Ma explained, “while the Chinese New Year Shopping Festival is created for farmers.”

    During the sale, Alibaba will promote local specialties from farmlands and pastures to urban online shoppers looking for healthy foods. Juhuasuan, Alibaba’s flash sales platform, has stored 150 tons of Jinhua ham, 100 tons of beef from Inner Mongolia, four million organic eggs, 10 million packs of Cantonese sausages, 50,000 kilograms of pork from the Dabie Mountains, and 30,000 grain-fed hens from Shuanglian in Hubei province.

    In addition to facilitating rural-urban commerce, Alibaba is using the sale to showcase innovations in O2O eCommerce and financial technology. For example, Rural Taobao developed a mobile app so that migrant workers unable to return home for the holiday can use their smartphones to purchase gifts for faraway parents and loved ones.

    Tmall Global recently partnered with the Tianjin Free-trade Zone to open a brick-and-mortar store near Beijing where customers can check out a wide range of products, from snacks to cosmetics, available from overseas merchants and order them by scanning QR codes using their phones. Built to facilitate cross-border eCommerce, the “Alibaba experience center” will offer special discounts during the CNY sale.

    Alibaba e-payments affiliate Alipay is again putting a high-tech spin on the Chinese New Year practice of giving red envelopes stuffed with cash to friends and family. Alipay this year is the exclusive partner of China’s Spring Festival Gala, an annual TV program hosted by CCTV that is watched by millions. During the show, viewers armed with the Alipay app will be able to receive virtual red packets distributed by Alipay and participating merchants. Alipay said it has landed more than 100 corporate sponsors, including taxi-hailing firm Didi and handset maker Huawei.

    Advance sales for the Ali Chinese New Year Shopping Festival are set to start January 14. The actual shopping festival will begin January 17 and will last for five days.

    Other Festival initiatives include:

    • Alibaba in cooperation with local governments has chartered trains to provide free transportation to migrant workers to return home for the holiday. The trains will run from Guangzhou to Guiyang and from Shanghai to Xi’an.
    • Alibaba will organize free Chinese opera performances in rural communities.
    • The company will provide assistance to 13,000 rural service center managers so they can host 10,000 New Year’s Eve dinners for the elderly, left-behind children and disabled people.
    • Taobao Marketplace is featuring “time-honored brands” that are widely recognized in China for their connection to Chinese New Year and staying power through generations. Mobile Taobao plans to launch related location-based services to help users find nearby stores carrying these brands.
    • Alitrip, Alibaba’s online travel service platform, has designed several tour routes along which tourists can experience folk customs such as floating lotus-shaped lanterns on rivers in the city of Lijiang in Yunnan Province.
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