Qingdao celebrates Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year is one of the most anticipated dates in the Chinese calendar, so much so that even sailing across the Pacific Ocean didn’t stop the crew on board Qingdao celebrating the Lunar New Year- the year of the horse.

Qingdao celebrated the New Year by tucking into a traditional Chinese dish of dumplings, and shared a quiz about China and Chinese culture. Skipper Gareth Glover, is looking forward to the year of the horse which is supposed to bring prosperity and wealth:

“Happy Chinese New Year from Qingdao! At happy hour last night we had dumplings to welcome the New Year in and we organised a quiz about China and Chinese culture.  We are hoping that the New Year will bring us more luck in the race and especially Race 9 into our home port of Qingdao.”

Chinese New Year is celebrated on the first day of the Chinese calendar, and this year falls on 31 January.

Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally run from Chinese New Year's Eve, the last day of the last month of the Chinese calendar, to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first month, making the festival the longest in the Chinese calendar. Because the Chinese calendar is lunisolar, the Chinese New Year is often referred to as the "Lunar New Year".

The fleet is currently racing to Singapore and is expected to arrive between 11-12 February where it will depart for Race 9 to the Chinese city of Qingdao.