Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February, and Thailand marks it most loudly in Bangkok's Chinatown (Yaowarat), in Nakhon Sawan's great procession and in Hat Yai. It is not a national public holiday in Thailand, so banks and offices stay open almost everywhere, but many family-run Chinese shops close for a day or more.
Thailand has one of the largest ethnic Chinese communities outside China. Most Thai-Chinese families trace their roots to Teochew and Hokkien migrants of the 19th and early 20th centuries, so visitors from Singapore, Malaysia, southern China and Hong Kong will recognize much of what they see: red lanterns, lion dances, ancestor offerings and red envelopes. In Thai, the festival is called Trut Chin.
The difference from Singapore or Penang is scale and setting. Celebrations are concentrated in a few streets and towns, mixed with Thai customs, and run by local shrines and associations as much as by the government.
Chinese New Year in Thailand: key facts
- 2027 date
- Saturday 6 February 2027 (Year of the Goat); New Year's Eve is Friday 5 February
- Public holiday?
- No, except as a bank holiday in Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun and Songkhla
- Biggest events (2026 pattern)
- Yaowarat, Bangkok; Nakhon Sawan procession; Hat Yai, Songkhla
- Visa (October 2026)
- Chinese citizens 30 days under the mutual exemption; Singapore and Malaysia 30 days visa-exempt
The three days Thai-Chinese families keep
Thai-Chinese households usually think of the festival as three days. The day before the eve is for shopping: markets in Yaowarat are packed with people buying ducks, chickens, fruit, paper offerings and sweets. The eve is the day of worship, when families make offerings to ancestors and household spirits in the morning and afternoon. The new year itself is a day for visiting relatives, giving red envelopes (ang pao) and going out.
For a visitor, the shopping day and the evenings are the best time to see Chinatown at full volume. The morning of the eve is the most traditional and the most private; watch the offerings at shrines, but do not walk into family homes or shops to take photos.
Yaowarat: Bangkok's main celebration
Bangkok's celebration centers on Yaowarat Road, between Odeon Circle (the Chinese gate near Wat Traimit) and Chaloem Buri intersection. In 2026, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) lit up that stretch every evening from 18:00 to 23:00 between 7 February and 1 March, with performances and lion dances on the main days. Big shopping malls such as Siam Paragon and ICONSIAM ran their own programs.
Expect crowds in the evening, partial road closures and slow traffic. The MRT Blue Line's Wat Mangkon station is the easiest way in; our guide to the BTS and MRT explains tickets and contactless payment. Our guide to Chinatown (Yaowarat) covers the street food, temples and the neighborhood the rest of the year, and the Bangkok city guide the wider city.
Gold shops on Yaowarat do brisk business before the new year, since gold is a traditional gift. If you plan to buy, read our articles on why gold matters in Thailand first.
Plan Yaowarat for the evening, not the morning of new year's day. Many family shophouses close on the new year and the day after, while the lights, stalls and shows are at their best after 18:00. Restaurants that stay open fill up fast, so eat early or late.
Nakhon Sawan: the Chao Pho–Chao Mae Pak Nam Pho procession
Nakhon Sawan, about three hours north of Bangkok where the Ping and Nan rivers meet to form the Chao Phraya, holds Thailand's best-known Chinese New Year procession. The festival honors the town's guardian deities, Chao Pho and Chao Mae Pak Nam Pho, with dragon and lion troupes and a long street parade. In 2026 it ran from 10 to 21 February around the Kosi Road intersection.
The procession day draws large crowds from across the country, and hotels in the town are limited. If you want to see it, book a room as soon as the 2027 dates are announced, or make it a day trip by road from Bangkok.
Hat Yai and the south
Hat Yai, the commercial city of Songkhla province, holds a large celebration aimed at visitors from Malaysia and Singapore. In 2026, TAT's "Amazing Thailand Chinese New Year @ Hat Yai" ran from 17 to 20 February along Saneha Nusorn Road, with lion dances, acrobats and night lights, and a separate procession organized by a local foundation ran from 16 to 25 February.
Songkhla is one of the five southern provinces where Chinese New Year is a bank holiday, so expect bank branches to close there on the day itself. For getting there from Malaysia, see our guide to traveling from Malaysia to Hat Yai, and our Hat Yai guide for the city.
Hat Yai city is fine to visit, but check the travel advice for the surrounding districts. As of October 2026, the UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to four districts of Songkhla (Chana, Thepa, Na Thawi and Saba Yoi) and to the Hat Yai–Padang Besar railway line. Hat Yai city itself is not on that list.
Elsewhere in the south, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani (Ban Don) also hold Chinese New Year events. In Phuket, TAT describes the new year as closely tied to the Phuket Old Town Festival in the Sino-Portuguese streets of Phuket Town; check the date each year, because it does not always line up with the new year itself. Our guide to Old Phuket Town covers the area, and Phuket's bigger Chinese festival comes in autumn: the Vegetarian Festival.
Closures, crowds and prices
- Banks and government offices open as normal outside the five southern provinces. Check the Thai public holiday calendar for the real holidays.
- Chinese-owned shops and restaurants often close on the new year and for a few days after. Gold shops, hardware and wholesale shops in Yaowarat are most likely to shut.
- Hotels in Yaowarat and Hat Yai fill up and raise prices around the festival weekend. Our guide to where to stay in Bangkok lists areas a short ride from Chinatown.
- Flights from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia are busy and expensive in the week of the new year; see our guide to flights to Thailand from Asia.
Paying: in Yaowarat, cash and Thai QR payments are the norm at street stalls. Some larger shops and malls accept Alipay and WeChat Pay, but do not rely on them at food stalls.
Visas for visitors from China, Singapore and Malaysia
As of October 2026, Chinese citizens enter Thailand visa-free for up to 30 days under the mutual exemption agreement, and Singaporean and Malaysian passport holders get 30 days under Thailand's visa exemption. Hong Kong and Macao passport holders also get 30 days. Details and conditions are on our pages about the visa rules for Chinese citizens and the visa exemption. Every visitor must also complete the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card before arrival.
Frequently asked questions
When is Chinese New Year 2027 in Thailand?
The first day of the lunar new year is Saturday 6 February 2027, with New Year's Eve on Friday 5 February. Event dates in Yaowarat, Nakhon Sawan and Hat Yai are usually announced a few weeks before.
Is Chinese New Year a public holiday in Thailand?
Not nationally. The Bank of Thailand lists it as a bank holiday only in Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun and Songkhla. Elsewhere, banks and offices are open, although many Chinese-owned businesses close.
Where is the best place to see Chinese New Year in Thailand?
Yaowarat in Bangkok has the biggest and easiest celebration for visitors. Nakhon Sawan has the most famous procession, and Hat Yai has a large festival that is convenient for travelers coming from Malaysia and Singapore.
Is Yaowarat closed during Chinese New Year?
No. The street is at its busiest, with lights, stalls and shows in the evening. Some family shophouses close on the new year and the days after, so a particular restaurant you want may be shut.
Sources
- Tourism Authority of Thailand – Amazing Thailand Chinese New Year 2026 in Bangkok and Hat Yai (checked October 2026)
- Tourism Authority of Thailand – Chinese New Year Festival 2026 around Thailand (checked October 2026)
- Tourism Authority of Thailand – Chinese New Year in Thailand: a fusion of traditions (checked October 2026)
- Bank of Thailand – Financial institutions' holidays (checked October 2026)
- UK FCDO – Thailand travel advice: warnings and insurance (checked October 2026)
- Tourism Authority of Thailand – New 30-day and 15-day visa exemption rules from 15 September 2026 (checked October 2026)