The first day of the Chinese Year of the Pig was celebrated in spectacular style in London when parade and festival transforms Chinatown, central London's Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square yesterday.

The grand gala went into climax when about 200,000 people chanted "Gongxifacai" one of the most frequently used Chinese New Year greeting meaning "wishing you wealthy and good luck" at the Trafalgar Square.

The festivities start at 11:00 a.m. with a grand parade of dragons, lions and dancers along the Strand, Charing Cross Road and Shaftesbury Avenue.

Performances by visiting artists from the Guizhou province in southwestern China seemed to have opened a window for Londoners to see one of the unique cultures from the country of dragon.

Pigs, dragons in the form of balloons, paper arts inundated central London where crowds found it hard to move for some times in the afternoon.

In Leicester Square, stalls selling traditional Chinese arts and foods attracted thousands, while in Chinatown, lion dance teams entertained the crowds and the air was filled with the smell of Chinese cuisine from restaurants and food stalls.

The Chinese New Year celebrations were organized by London Chinatown Chinese Association with support from the Mayor of London, the Chinese Embassy, Westminster City Council, Metropolitan Police and others.

Chu Ting Tang, president of the London Chinatown Chinese Association, said that Chinese New Year is the most important festival for Chinese communities and Londoners and visitors can certainly celebrate on a major scale with food, fireworks, lion dances and much more.

The capital's annual Chinese New Year celebrations continue to get bigger and better a chance for people of all faiths and ages to come together and experience what Chinese culture has to offer, Tang said.

As well as seeing in the Year of the Pig, the Chinese New Year festivities help mark the start of the "China in London" season, a citywide celebration of Chinese culture, which underlines the links between China and London with a program featuring dozens of events and activities at cultural institutions and other venues across the capital, including films, exhibitions and activities for children.