Andrea Yu channels her inner beast to enjoy the sights and sounds of Chinese New Year

The Fireworks
With notoriously fiery personalities, dragons will feel at home admiring an explosive pyrotechnic display. Fireworks at Chinese New Year are known for being the brightest, loudest and most elaborate of the year. The crackers are set off from 8pm. If you fancy a 360-degree view of the sparklies, hop on a harbour cruise or rent your own junk for the occasion.
January 24, 8pm.

The New Year Night Parade
This will be a feast for the eyes and ears and will satiate any energetic dragon. Performances include dragon and lion dances, bands and colourful floats. Nab a ticket for the spectator stands ($350-$180), otherwise get out early, stake your claim and enjoy it for free on the streets. Parade runs along Canton, Haiphong, Nathan and Salisbury Rd.
January 23, 8pm-9.30pm.

Temple Visits
If you want to be as successful in life as a dragon typically is, you may need a little help from the gods. Get them on your side by visiting one of Hong Kong’s many traditional temples. Here you can light some incense (in multiples of three) and bow down three times to whichever god tickles your fancy. The god Guan Yu is especially popular during Chinese New Year for his ability to bring wealth and success to life and business. Lighting 13 incense sticks in a bunch is your ticket to ultimate luck – but we would suggest locating the fire alarm before attempting this. While admission is free, leave a donation to help with the temple’s maintenance fees.
Wong Tai Sin Temple, Che Kung Temple, Man Mo Temple, Yuen Yuen Institute and many more.

Flower Market
If you’re feeling short-tempered, as many dragons are, then stop and smell the roses at various Flower Markets across town. Here vendors will sell large potted plants and ornamental fruits and veggies, most of which have some sort of auspicious symbolism or significance in Chinese culture. Pick up a pinwheel or three while you’re there – they’re meant to bring luck into your home.
Until January 23.

Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees
Dragons are an ambitious bunch, so all the more reason to dream big this year. Give your goals a little push by heading to the Wishing Trees at Lam Tsuen, Tai Po. Traditionally, residents would head to these banyan trees, write their wishes on to a piece of paper tied to an orange and fling it up on the tree. The higher the branch that your wish lands on, the more likely it’ll come true. Unfortunately, some overzealous wishers were injured from a falling branch in 2005, so nowadays visitors set their wishes on to a wooden rack nearby. But it’s still a great place to visit in the hope that you’re wildest dreams might just come true.
January 23-25, 9am-7pm.

And elsewhere around town…
The Chinese New Year spirit is infectious. The Peak, sky 100, Ngong Ping 360, Ocean Park, Madame Tussauds, Disneyland and other attractions across town feature special schedules, activities and decorations for the Year of the Dragon. Check their websites for more info.

Do's and Don'ts for Chinese New Year
Check out our tips before you hit the turnip cake. By Lilly Zhang

Don’t break things
Well, it’s not something we’d normally want to do anyway. But now is an especially bad time for klutzes across Asia. Handle breakable objects such as cups, glasses and mirrors with extra care as breaking one may lead to a broken family. But if you just can’t help it, there’s one way to counteract the bad luck: just immediately utter ‘sui sui ping an’ which means ‘peaceful all year’ in Mandarin, or ‘tai kat lai si’ which means ‘bless me’ in Cantonese.

Do clean up beforehand
Remember to sweep, dust and mop before the Chinese New Year to get rid of all the bad luck from the previous year. But hide that broom after New Year’s Day (Jan 23) because you don’t want to risk sweeping away the good luck the New Year will bring.

Don’t buy shoes
Bad news for shoe lovers: ‘shoe’ sounds similar to ‘evil’ in Chinese, so you should steer clear from shoe stores in the first few days of the New Year. But, really, it’s just another great excuse to stock up on sweet kicks beforehand.

Do get decked out in red
Getting dressed in red on New Year’s Eve is a popular Chinese tradition that’s still widely practiced in Hong Kong. You can drape yourself from head-to-toe or just accent with accessories. We think the best way is to slap on a pair of red underwear – it’s a popular New Year’s gift between lovers.

Don’t slice and dice
Beware of scissors! Put those knives away! Chinese superstition says they might cause, uh, a family member’s death in the New Year. This also means you should prepare your food for New Year’s Day ahead of time.

Do balance the books
Sort out your finances and clear your debts before New Year’s Day. Superstition dictates that if you start the year in the red, you’ll finish it the same way.

Don’t mention death
Hmm… this one should be obvious. Reference to death and other misfortunes (including disasters and the like) on New Year’s Day is considered supremely inauspicious. Remember that homonyms for death lurk all over the Chinese language. ‘Four’, as everyone knows, should be avoided because it has the same pronunciation as ‘death’. You’ve been warned!

Do eat lucky food
For the Chinese, good luck for the New Year is solicited by eating as much auspicious food as possible. So feast on glutinous rice cakes that symbolise progress, fish that represents abundance and spring rolls which are shaped like gold bars. Fancy that.

Don’t shower on New Year’s Day
Avoid showering or washing your hair on New Year’s Day as it’s believed you’ll wash away your good luck. Sounds to us like yet another excuse to lie on the couch and do nothing…