Gong hei fat choy and a very warm welcome to this week’s best of the Echo newsletter. This weekend was Chinese New Year, one of the first big events in Liverpool’s packed 2023 calendar, and the start of the Year of the Rabbit. I’ve always loved Liverpool’s Lunar New Year festivities and the way the city comes together to celebrate one of Europe’s oldest and proudest Chinese communities. Very many years ago I was part of a team charged with really putting the event on the calendar. I met so many inspirational people with incredible tales to tell and was really embraced by the community. Many of the restaurateurs are no longer in Chinatown and the changes to this Liverpool gateway were explored this week by our reporter Elliot Ryder. Change is inevitable, and our night-time economy is in a very different place, but it was fascinating to hear how the Chinese community has diversified and remains integral to the make-up of our city.
I was proud of the very many stories we wrote in the lead up to Chinese New Year including our SEO editor Lottie Gibbons’ first trip to the excellent Chung Wah supermarket and Dan Haygarth’s visit to Sans Cafe which has been serving Chinese food since the 1960s. We even dabbled in Chinese horoscopes - though sadly this year is not looking too good for horses like me. If you’re were Chinatown yesterday, I hope you enjoyed the celebrations, the firecrackers, the dragon, lion and unicorn. It was a good opportunity to support our local Chinese businesses.
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