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UAE hosts wave of Chinese New Year festivities

Xinhua, February 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

Shops, malls and tourist resorts across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) kicked off on Thursday festivities for Chinese visitors and residents to the mark the start of this year's Chinese Spring Festival.

Dubai Duty Free (DDF), the biggest duty free enterprise, launched earlier in the day the special promotion week at Dubai International Airport ahead of the Chinese lunar year of monkey.

The UAE's famous luxury hotels like Dubai's iconic seven-star hotel Burj Al-Arab or the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi also decorated parts of their interior to mark Chinese New Year and offer special discounts in their Chinese restaurants.

The coming weeks are also going to see a number of events to mark the start of the Year of Monkey, such as the traditional lion's dance, martial art performances, dragon face painting for kids and a lucky draw at a Chinese tree of wealth.

Earlier last week, Dubai tourism announced that 450,000 Chinese tourists travelled in 2015 to "Fly-Buy-Dubai", as the Gulf Arabian sheikhdom is also called, representing a 29 percent year on year increase and the strongest uptick among all nations flocking to Dubai.

DDF said that there are 100 flights going from Dubai to mainland China every week, while 28 go to Hong Kong. It now hires 705 Chinese staff, while 14 percent of its business comes from Chinese travelers.

Chinese visitors like to buy luxury goods, perfumes, fashion brands and souvenirs at DDF, salesperson Shannon from Xi'an, Shaanxi province said.

On Maryah island, the latest new business and lifestyle destination in the UAE capital, Chinese New Year festivities will kick off with fireworks on Friday. Visitors are going to enjoy a dynamic array of dances, shows, craft workshops and an art exhibition, all showcased in traditional Chinese style, said the island's authority. Endit