Grand Canal Square is lit up red for the coming Chinese New Year in Dublin, Ireland, Jan. 16, 2020. A launch ceremony to light up Dublin red for the coming Chinese New Year was held here on Thursday evening. "Light up with Chinese Red" is an initiative first put forward by Dublin City Council five years ago and later copied by many other cities and counties in Ireland. (Xinhua)

DUBLIN, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- A launch ceremony to light up Dublin red for the coming Chinese New Year was held here on Thursday evening.

Chinese Ambassador to Ireland He Xiangdong, Deputy Mayor of Dublin Tom Brabazon, and Tourism Ireland Chief Executive Niall Gibbons attended the ceremony which was held at the famous Samuel Beckett Bridge.

Named after Samuel Beckett, an Irish writer and a Nobel Literature Prize laureate, Samuel Beckett Bridge is a cable-stayed structure with steel cables shaped in a way to resemble the strings of a harp, a national symbol for Ireland.

Flying over River Liffey that flows through the center of Dublin, the bridge is one of the iconic buildings and tourist attractions in the city.

At the launch ceremony, the entire Samuel Beckett Bridge was lit up red with a huge screen formed by the cables of the bridge constantly displaying greetings for Chinese New Year both in English and Chinese.

Several other landmark buildings in the city, including the Convention Center Dublin which stands right next to Samuel Beckett Bridge, were also lit up at the ceremony.

When the Chinese New Year celebrations hit its peak period which will extend from Jan. 24 to Jan. 26, a number of other landmark buildings across the city will all be lit up red, said Brabazon, adding that they include Mansion House, the official residence of the Mayor of Dublin, and Dublin City Council, and Guinness Storehouse, a historical site for producing the famous beer Guinness.

"Light up with Chinese Red" is an initiative first put forward by Dublin City Council five years ago and later copied by many other cities and counties in Ireland.