Thousands of umbrella-toting residents
and tourists braved the rain to mark the Chinese New Year in
Prato Sunday, the Tuscan city with the highest percentage of
Chinese inhabitants in Italy.
About 25 thousand citizens of the People's Republic are resident
in Tuscany's third largest city, 30 km northeast of Florence,
out of a total of 200 thousand inhabitants, many of them having
found work in the local textile industry for which Prato is
famous. It is the second biggest Chinese community in Italy
after Milan.
Revellers crowded the traditional Dragon parade route as they
celebrated the start of the year of the Snake, a sign of rebirth
in the Eastern zodiac.
On Sunday morning, around 9, the parade started from the Pu Hua
Si Buddhist Temple, in Piazza della Gualchierina; then, after
crossing the Macrolotto Zero, the Prato Chinatown, the
procession stopped in Piazza del Comune, where the mayor of
Prato Ilaria Bugetti was waiting for the participants.
The final act was in Piazza Santa Maria delle Carceri, with a
series of dance and music performances.
Yi Qi, the Consul General of China in Florence, also
participated in this last initiative.
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