Chinese New Year at Mercato Centrale Rome

Chinese New Year arrives at Mercato Centrale

In February 2026, Mercato Centrale Rome celebrates the Chinese New Year for the first time with a calendar of events that goes far beyond the dining table. For eleven days, from February 18 to 28, the grand gastronomic hall overlooking Via Giovanni Giolitti transforms into a meeting place between two cultures of food and hospitality. The initiative is organized in collaboration with Associna and LIAO - Laboratorio Incontro Asia Occidente, project partners, and is part of the wider mosaic of festivities animating Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II and the Esquilino district during those days.

The Year of the Fire Horse

In the Chinese lunisolar calendar, 2026 marks the Year of the Fire Horse: a sign associated with energy, movement, and enterprise. The Roman program revolves around this symbol, designed to share not just the dishes, but also the customs, timing, and auspicious meanings of the most important festival of the year for over a billion people. Nothing is left to superficial folklore: every event is led by practitioners and professionals from Rome's Chinese community.

Workshops, rituals, and cooking classes

The heart of the program takes place at Spazio Fare, on the second floor of the market. It begins on February 18 with a workshop dedicated to the art of dumplings, led by chef Angelo Ji of the restaurant Lamien and Dumplings, who teaches the traditional folding, dough-making, and filling techniques. This is followed by a meeting on Chinese medicinal herbs, a tea ceremony led by Gloria Liu—a mindful tasting session explaining the tools, timing, and symbolic value of each step—and a Yi Quan lesson with master Maurizio Crocco, an internal martial art based on posture and breathing.

• Calligraphy: On February 25, participants will use brush and ink to create the character for 'fortune,' an expressive gesture that is also a practice of concentration.
• Cinema: Screening of Us and Them by Rene Liu, in the original language with Italian subtitles, a sentimental story spanning ten years in the lives of two young people who met on a train to Beijing.
• Children: Two sessions for the 5-10 age group, "Chinese is child's play" and mythological tales related to the origins of the festival.
• China Hour: A final celebratory aperitivo on February 28.

The New Year's Eve dinner

The most anticipated moment is the traditional New Year's Eve dinner on February 27, also curated by Angelo Ji, served around a large communal table on the first floor. Each course carries a specific wish: spring rolls for wealth, long-life noodles, fried fish as a symbol of abundance, pork in soy sauce for well-being and strength, a mixed meat and fish platter—a full table for a prosperous year—and finally, a rice cake with sesame, a symbol of family unity and growth year after year. It is the perfect opportunity to understand why, in Chinese culture, one never eats just to nourish the body.

One neighborhood, two traditions

The choice of location is no coincidence. Mercato Centrale is located in the Municipality of Rome, in the Lazio region, within the Giolitti wing of Termini Station, in a district—Esquilino—that has been the main reference point for the capital's Chinese community since the 1990s. Just a few hundred meters away, the porticoes of Piazza Vittorio have long hosted the parade, lion dances, and fireworks that mark the turn of the year. The market adds a more intimate and educational dimension to this street festival, where one can sit, listen, and learn hands-on.

Who is it for?

The activities are designed for diverse audiences: curious adults, families with young children, Asian gastronomy enthusiasts, and students of Chinese language and culture. Almost all events have limited capacity and require booking, with fees ranging from 10 to 30 euros; some moments, such as the film screening and the final aperitivo, are free to enter until capacity is reached. The rest of Mercato Centrale—its artisan shops, bread, meat, fish, and gelato counters—remains open daily, offering passersby even more reasons to stop by.