2026 Lunar New Year Fairs to Feature 1,500 Stalls Across 14 Locations for Festive Celebrations

2026 Lunar New Year fairs to start from February 11

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) announced today (February 4) that the 2026 Lunar New Year (LNY) fairs will be held at 14 locations for seven days from February 11 (Wednesday) to 7am on February 17. About 1 500 wet goods, dry goods and fast food stalls will be set up to enable the public to buy festive plants and flowers, LNY food, decorations and spring couplets (fai chun) to welcome the LNY.

A spokesman for the FEHD said, "The venues of the LNY fairs will be monitored using innovative and technological measures, and crowd control will be implemented as necessary. The footfall of the 14 LNY fairs will be displayed in a 'green, amber and red lights' format on the FEHD website to enable the public to know the crowd conditions at the fairs. A green light means few people are inside the fair, the amber light indicates the fair venue is slightly crowded, while the red light shows that the fair venue is very crowded."

The spokesman added, "The FEHD will gather unsold pots of flowers and plants donated by vendors in the fairs, which will then be delivered to homes with elderly people, residential care homes for persons with disabilities and public hospitals by volunteer teams made up of FEHD staff on LNY Day (February 17).

The FEHD reminded licensees that the stalls are solely for the purpose of selling and promoting the sale of permitted commodities, with no other activities allowed in the licensed area. If the FEHD considers that any activity conducted by the licensee to publicise, promote, display, show, offer or sell any permitted commodities in the venue is unlawful, contrary to the interest of national security, or being immoral or incompatible with the object of the LNY fair, the FEHD is entitled to direct the licensee to stop conducting such activity and the licensee must immediately comply with such direction, or the FEHD will terminate the licence agreement and reclaim the stall.

In addition, as stated in the licence agreement, the height of dry goods stalls must not exceed 3 metres, while the height of wet goods stalls and fast food stalls must not exceed 4.5m from ground level. For wet goods stalls and fast food stalls with a height of more than 3m from ground level, the licensee must, at his own expense, provide the FEHD with an original certificate issued by an authorised person, a registered structural engineer, or a competent person under the Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations (Cap. 59I) to certify the structural safety of the stall structure before the LNY fairs are opened to the public. The licensee must also affix a copy of the aforesaid certificate on the structure of the stall. Also, each corner and anchor point of the marquee (if any) shall be securely fastened using appropriate ballast weights such as sandbags or purpose-designed marquee water weights. During the period when the Strong Monsoon Signal is in force or is to be issued, the licensee shall immediately inspect the stall and adopt reinforcement measures as necessary.

Furthermore, the FEHD reminded licensees that no floating LED glowing balloons and aquarium fish should be sold in the LNY fairs. If balloons or gas-filled articles are to be displayed or offered for sale, only air or helium is allowed to be used for inflating the products. There are also stipulations on the storage of helium cylinders at the fair venues. According to the licence agreement, licensees must not keep, store or use more than 150 litres (water capacity) of compressed helium, i.e. the respective general exempt quantity for which a licence is not required, pursuant to the Dangerous Goods (Application and Exemption) Regulation 2012 (Cap. 295E) in the licensed area. For the sake of safety, no floating LED glowing balloons will be allowed to be brought into the LNY fair venues.

The spokesman also urged members of the public to keep the environment clean and not to litter while enjoying the festive season. Stall operators should also properly dispose of waste and keep their stalls and the surroundings clean and tidy.

For information on the 2026 LNY fairs including the locations and opening hours, please visit the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk) or call the FEHD hotline at 2868 0000.

Photo source: fehd.gov.hk

Remarks by FS at media session after attending Legislative Council Ante Chamber Exchange Session

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, met the media this morning (February 4) with Principal Officials, the President's Deputy of the Legislative Council, Mr Chan Chun-ying, and Chairmen of Legislative Council Panels, after attending the Legislative Council Ante Chamber Exchange Session. Following are the remarks by Mr Paul Chan:

Reporter: What did you make of the earlier exchange sessions with the lawmakers? And as the Chief Executive said yesterday, Hong Kong will make its first Five-Year Plan following the 15th Five-Year Plan in Beijing, what are the intended directions on how to align with the nation's development goals? How will Hong Kong implement the relevant policies and will your Budget that comes out later this month seek to roll out policies that also align with the nation's directions?

Financial Secretary: The discussion just now in the Ante Chamber focused on the 15th Five-Year Plan of the country. The recommendations for the 15th Five-Year Plan were set out last October. The final Plan will be released in March during the Two Sessions in Beijing. On the basis of those recommendations, in preparing the Budget, we have been taking into full consideration the future role of Hong Kong in aligning with, and making contributions to, the overall national development. During that process, Hong Kong will also benefit. For example, going forward - apart from being an international financial centre and international trade centre, technology and innovation will be a major driver of future economic growth.

And the 15th Five-Year Plan puts emphasis on technological self-reliance, as well as deeply integrating technology with industrial development. These are also of high reference value for Hong Kong as we work to diversify our economic structure and create more quality jobs for our people. At the same time, it is also necessary to use technology to upgrade and empower different sectors. It is the policy of the Government to embrace technologies and apply them, in particular AI, across different sectors. In the upcoming Budget, content will certainly be devoted to this to outline the future economic direction of Hong Kong.

For the five-year planning for Hong Kong to be led by the Chief Executive, it is indeed a great move. Going forward, the development of Hong Kong will count on the strong support of the Central Authorities, and the competitive advantages of Hong Kong as an international financial, trade and technology centre. We have a very big hinterland, which is a 1.4 billion-people market, as well as a vibrant technology and industry chain. We need to leverage these advantages to support our future growth. In the Budget, we'll also cover this aspect. Thank you.

(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the remarks.)

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, met the media this morning, Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The Legislative Council Ante Chamber Exchange Session, Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases