Lunar New Year February 16, 2015 Celebrating Lunar New Year in New York City Chinatowns China to take its New Year TV gala to a global audience Page 20 n THE ASIAN REPORTER By Beth J. Harpaz AP Travel Editor By Louise Watt The Associated Press N EW YORK — Chinatown has long been a popular destination for tourists in Lower Manhattan. But visitors willing to explore the city’s outer boroughs might consider a subway ride to neighborhoods in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, or Flushing, Queens, which are also home to large Asian populations and bustling commercial strips dotted with restaurants and shops. All three neighborhoods also host events connected to the Lunar New Year. The holiday is officially marked on February 19, but several parades and other festivities are planned for the weekend of February 21 and 22. Following are some details on the holiday and the three Chinatowns. Year of the what? Each Lunar New Year has a different animal symbol from the 12 creatures in the lunar zodiac, but this year’s animal is subject to interpretation. “We just had this discussion a few weeks ago. What exactly is it?” said Lenny Cheng, who works in the Brooklyn branch of the Chinatown Planning Council. “It can be a Ram, Sheep, or Goat — any ruminant mountain animal with horns.” Cheng’s organization is going with Year of the Ram. Sunset Park Sunset Park isn’t as well-known as the Chinatowns in Manhattan and Queens, but it’s one of the city’s fastest-growing immigrant neighborhoods. There’s an Asian enclave — predominantly Chinese, with a concentration of Fujianese and Cantonese residents — as well as a large Spanish-speaking population. Latino eateries and businesses are centered along Brooklyn’s Fifth Avenue, while Eighth Avenue is home to many Asian restaurants, markets, and shops, roughly between 40th and 60th streets. The neighborhood is served by several subway stops. Good, inexpensive, authentic eateries abound. Some aficionados have anointed Ba Xuyen, 4222 Eighth Avenue in Brooklyn, as home to the best banh mi in the city: Vietnamese sandwiches on crispy baguettes, loaded with ingredients like crunchy pickled vegetables, savory meatballs, and fragrant cilantro. Others swear by Lucky Eight, 5204 Eighth Avenue, a Chinese restaurant that’s even recommended by the Michelin guide. Another foodie fave is Yun Nan Flavour Garden, 5121 Eighth Avenue, known for rice noodles and other specialties of China’s Yunnan province. On February 21, a public school, P.S. 310, at 942 62nd Street in Brooklyn, is hosting a day of free festivities in honor of the new year. The event includes martial arts, lion dance performances, games, and vendors. Flushing In Flushing, take the 7 train to the last stop in Queens — Main Street — into the heart of a busy neighborhood that’s a shopping and dining paradise. Visitors find everything from Sheraton and Best Western hotels to malls filled with Asian food stalls and shops. The Golden Mall is home to the flagship location for Xi’an Famous Foods, in the basement of 41-28 Main Street. Xi’an is known for unique noodle dishes and now has 10 locations around the city. A Lunar New Year Bazaar took place February 14 at B LNY in NYC. Performers greet crowds during last year’s Chinatown New Year Parade and Festival in New York. Manhattan boasts the city’s oldest and best-known Chinese neighborhood in New York. Its massive, colorful Lunar New Year parade and festival this year takes place on Feb- ruary 22. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File) Flushing Town Hall, while a parade with a lion dance runs from Union Street to Main Street and 39th Avenue around 11:00am on February 21. Manhattan Manhattan boasts the city’s oldest and best-known Chinese neighborhood. Its massive, colorful Lunar New Year parade and festival take place February 22, kicking off at 1:00pm at Canal and Mott streets, heading to Chatham Square, then down East Broadway, Eldridge, and Grand Streets to Sara D. Roosevelt Park. Also at the park, on February 19, there is a firecracker ceremony and cultural festival at 11:00am. A walk in Chinatown is fun and evocative any time of year. Strolling down Mott Street from Canal takes visitors past dozens of souvenir shops and restaurants. Brave the line of diners waiting for soup dumplings at Joe’s Shanghai, 9 Pell Street, just off Mott, or join the weekend crowds chowing down on dim sum at places like Dim Sum Go Go, located at 5 E. Broadway. Coming soon Also this month, NYC & Company, the city’s tourism organization, will feature all three Chinatowns as part of its series, Neighborhood x Neighborhood, at <www.nycgo. com/nxn>. The site picks different neighborhoods to focus on each month, offering itineraries and a short video. EIJING — China says its annual Lunar New Year gala TV show is all set to go international. State broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) says it’s making rights available to foreign broadcasters for the first time and plans to promote the February 18 show on Twitter and other social media. CCTV touts its annual hours-long Spring Festival Gala as the world’s longest-running and most-watched variety show. A staple of holiday celebrations since the 1980s, the evening show also has been widely mocked for cheesy performances and stilted staging. This year’s show will be broadcast in several languages, including English, Hindi, Arabic, Portuguese, and German, under agreements with 24 foreign media outlets, according to Ma Runsheng, general manager of CHNPEC, the CCTV-owned agency which deals with its copyrights. Ma said greatest hits from past shows — including the best moments of traditional Chinese opera — will be encapsulated to promote the gala on YouTube, Google Plus, and Twitter, which are blocked in China. “Our purpose is to make our gala available to more overseas Chinese and overseas foreign viewers who love Chinese culture and want to learn about Chinese culture through this festive celebration,” Ma said at a news conference. This year’s theme is “Family Harmony Yields Success.” The gala is already broadcast live on multiple television channels and on some Chinese websites. Last year, more than 700 million people watched the show live or a replay a week later on CCTV or other channels, and 110 million people watched it online, according to Zheng Weidong, deputy managing director of CSM Media Research, which pulls together ratings. When the gala started in 1983, relatively few Chinese families had their own television sets, but it evolved into a major annual viewing event. Now, many younger viewers prefer watching something else online. Last year, to try to increase its appeal, organizers hired acclaimed film director Feng Xiaogang to direct it, but he reportedly complained that he didn’t have the freedom to do what he wanted, and many critics gave the show a thumbs-down. Mark your calendar! The Asian Reporter Foundation’s 17th Annual Scholarship & Awards banquet will be held Thursday, April 23, 2015 at Portland’s TAO Event Center. Welcoming the Year of the Sheep: February 19, 2015 to February 7, 2016!