NEW YORK—For New Yorkers walking on the streets of the city’s largest Chinatown on April 23, their presence was hard to dismiss.
With lion dancers and a marching band in sky-blue suits leading the way, the 2,000-strong parade marched through the Flushing neighborhood of Queens. On a float richly decorated with golden tassels, blue-gilded clouds, and large lotus flowers, men and women attired in traditional costumes smiled and waved from under a golden tiled rooftop meant to represent a heavenly palace. From time to time, women dressed as traditional Chinese fairies walked by, offering an origami lotus flower from a small wicker basket to passersby.
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