Items designed for Chinese New Year on display in Harrods Department Store in London, UK, Feb 2, 2016. (Photo: chinadaily.com.cn/Liu Jing)
As many Chinese are returning home for the Chinese lunar new year, or Spring Festival celebration, it is also being gradually accepted by Europeans: schools are starting to teach that side of Chinese culture to children, adults attend special events, and even businesses take the opportunity to use the festival for promotion.
In the European capitals of London, Brussels and Paris, the atmosphere is easy to feel as the year of Monkey approaches. Shopping centers are trying their best to broaden their appeal to Chinese consumers with offers, discounts and presentations featuring Chinese elements.
The high-end department store Harrods in London has partnered with Hong Kong-based toy-art brand Papinee to create an exclusive Chinese New Year toy, the Harrods Happy Monkey.
The soft toy, available from January and displayed in the department's windows, is decorated with symbols representing happiness, luck and positive energy in shape of motifs such as hearts, four-leaf clovers and horse shoes, according to the department.
The department store's souvenir shop also offers various items designed for the year of monkey, ranging from purses and pens to key rings and cups. A traditional Chinese-style decoration door is placed for customers to offer their wish cards for the coming festival.
In Chinese folklore the monkey represent cleverness and agility.
Kyle, a manager of the department, who didn't give his full name, said that the store has celebrated the traditional Chinese festival for many years. "We have a lot of Chinese tourists here and they will be very interested to see this," he said.
Sunkiran Boyal, a shopping assistant for cosmetics in Harrods, said Chinese customers are their most loyal clients and her brand has prepared special offers to thank them. The Estee Lauder brand has rolled out a new bottle design with golden-colored main body and a red monkey pendant.
"Chinese customers really like the new design and they can get the product with the new bottle for no extra charge," she said. "We also give them samples wrapped in red envelopes to say thank you and celebrate the festival with them."
Other department stores have followed suit. Selfridge department store offers its customers a complimentary hand fan, which can be decorated by a Chinese artist with a personal message or a bespoke design when spending 100 pounds or more on accessories.
Sun Yinjie, a Chinese painter invited by the department to paint the fans, said this is his second time to be invited. He has also been asked to participate in another celebration by BBC.
"I have been in UK for more than eight years and I'm glad to see more activities about Chinese New Year in the country. This is apparently a result of China's growing economic and political status," he said.
Many retailers are also trying to tap the market in China. The Cambridge Satchel Company, for example, is offering buyers a special discount and free embossing of a monkey symbol on all the red bags they buy in the brand's online store.
