Chicago gears up efforts for Chinese New Year celebration

Chinese New Year

A shopper selects Lunar New Year decorations on display for sale at a wholesale market in Beijing,Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015. Chinese will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Feb. 19 this year which marks the Year of Sheep on the Chinese zodiac. Photo: AP

The efforts in preparing for celebration of Chinese New Year have gained momentum in this Midwest American city of Chicago, where Chicagoans will again enjoy an extra official citywide holiday for the festive occasion.

For people of Chinese origin, the New Year 2015 on the Chinese Lunar calendar starts Thursday next week.

A Chicago Chinese New Year would never be complete without a celebration on famed Mag Mile, the city’s central shopping area that has 290,000 square meters of retail space and some of the tallest buildings in the United States.

Macy’s, one of America’s largest retailers, has invited a six- member team from the Chinese Ministry of Culture’s Arts and Entertainment Group to come and decorate a window, with the plan to top their display from the previous year.

This story is compiled with information from Xinhua.