DUBAI, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Ruler of Dubai attended Friday the kilometers-long parade in Dubai's newest shopping and dining complex "Citywalk," formed by 1,500 Chinese expatriates on the occasion of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Under blue sky and temperatures of above 20 degrees Celsius, the Chinese expatriate community launched the start of the Year of the Dog with Chinese classical music performances, the famous Chinese dragon and lion dance and artistic performances. The gathering of 30 groups marked the biggest Chinese parade since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1984.

Li Lingbing, the Consul General of China in Dubai took part in the parade and met thereafter with Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, who greeted the Chinese community and lauded their performances.

On Thursday, the ruler wrote history himself when he sent a greeting message to the Chinese people across the world on the occasion of Chinese Lunar New Year in Mandarin.

"On the occasion of the Lunar New Year, congratulations to the Chinese people throughout the world for the happy Spring Festival," Sheikh Mohammed said.

Over 270,000 Chinese nationals live in the Gulf state and over 4,000 businesses from China run branches in the UAE, a major oil supplier. Over 10,000 small gifts decorated with Chinese characteristics were distributed during the parade.

Maryam Bin Fahad, a well-known media relation personality who has been working for various government entities in the UAE, watched the parade from a nearby cafe and shot photos with her smartphone, as many residents did.

"We always enjoy having celebrations of different nations in our country. We are a cosmopolitan city, and I also like the parade because I travelled to China several times," she said.