We went down to the Chinese Quarter in the 13th arrondissement, and what did we see? Mostly the tops of of people’s heads…

Firecrackers and crowds. These are a few of my un-favourite things. However, there were lots of them in Paris for the Chinese New Year last weekend. The streets in the area are not very wide, and the event draws thousands of people, making moving about – or indeed, seeing what’s going on – a real trial.

We managed to get some shots by standing on a bench, but it wasn’t easy. Truth be told, we were making a special effort for you, so you could see what it’s like. After the parade we went to the huge Chinese supermarket Tang Frères on the avenue d’Ivry (the biggest in Europe). That was a real scrum too, but we did leave with some essential items (mostly nibbles actually), and the free balloons were popular with the kids.

Our film of the whole event is above, some of the photos are below, and you can see the complete set on our Flickr page here. Personally, we prefer the Fête de Ganesh, but have a look for yourself…






See the rest of the photos here.