New York landmarks shine red to celebrate Chinese New Year

NEW YORK - The Empire State Building and the One World Trade Center, two of the iconic landmark buildings in New York City, shone red on Tuesday night in celebration of the Chinese New Year.

The Empire State Building has done so to celebrate the Chinese New Year for the 25th consecutive year.

On Tuesday morning, China's Consul General in New York Chen Li and Jean-Yves Ghazi, president of the Empire State Building Observatory, jointly unveiled a window exhibition at the Fifth Avenue lobby in celebration of the Chinese New Year.

"We are delighted to see the Empire State Building serve as a bridge for American friends to better understand the Chinese culture, which highlights the importance of people-to-people exchanges in promoting friendship between our two countries," said Chen.

Chen noted more Americans visited China under the 10-day visa-free transit policy and giant pandas returned to the United States last year, which saw encouraging progress in the ties between the two peoples.

The window exhibition will run for a few weeks and the One World Trade Center will continue to shine red in the next two days.

Also known as the Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year of 2025 falls on Wednesday and 2025 is the Year of the Snake, according to the Chinese zodiac.

The Chinese New Year became a public school holiday in New York State in 2023.