Lunar New Year celebrations will be largely virtual events this year. That’s more bad news for Chinatown USA
The annual affair is traditionally celebrated with banquet-hall gatherings and gift-giving. Fireworks shows, dragon dances and parades attract huge crowds to Chinese communities — typically generating about 30% of annual revenue for restaurants and stores that are now struggling to stay in business because of the pandemic, according to multiple Chinese business leaders.
Because of Covid-19 concerns and government restrictions, many Lunar New Year celebrations will be virtual this year.
“It’s not going to be the same or anything close to the same,” said Malcolm Yeung, executive director of the San Francisco Chinatown Community Development Center.
“Virtually all of