Celebrating the Year of the Rabbit in Paris’ 13th Arrondissement

A photo walk through the ‘Quartier chinois’

A crowd watches a dragon go past (Photo by William Sidnam)

One of the good things about the Lunar New Year is that you get to celebrate New Year’s twice.

Although I don’t follow the Chinese calendar, I do like to attend festivals when I get the chance. So when I found out that there was going to be a big parade in the 13th arrondissement, I decided to go along.

A man sells balloons related to animals on the Chinese zodiac (Photo by William Sidnam)

The 13th arrondissement is known in Paris as ‘le quartier chinois’, or ‘the Chinese Quarter’. It’s home to a large number of Chinese people, but also people of other Asian origins such as Vietnamese and Cambodians. So while it could be considered the city’s de facto Chinatown, the label, much like ‘le quartier chinois’, is kind of inaccurate.

Red lanterns outside a Chinese-language cathedral (Photo by William Sidnam)

In any case, what I find interesting about this neighbourhood, which is nestled in the south-east of the city and lies just to the south of the Latin Quarter, is just how different it feels from most of Paris. Besides…