The year of the snake began this past February 10th and celebrations in Dubai were absolutely wild. Not only Chinese but also people of all races welcomed the Chinese New Year. Events of this type are great because they help show the diversity of the country.

DUBAI, Feb. 10 -- Special festival offers marking the start of Chinese year of snake are still rare in the Gulf Arab sheikhdom, but they are on the rise.

For many Chinese tourists spending their New Year holidays in Dubai, the sheikhdom is still an oriental mystery. The same applies to local hospitality groups as offers for celebrating the year of the snake are still rare, despite an ample community of 200,000 Chinese nationals living in Dubai.

Growing global awareness of Chinese habits and culture has also motivated hotels and restaurants in Dubai to lure Chinese nationals and tourists from other parts of the world for dinner treatments or parties for families. In 2011, 214,000 Chinese tourists travelled to Dubai, nine times more than the figure at the start of the millennium, according to the official Dubai tourism body DTCM.

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