An actor from China's Zhejiang Shaoju Opera Theatre performs at the Cultural Center in downtown Chicago, the United States, Jan. 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ping)

Around 18,000 people crowded the streets in Chicago's Chinatown on Sunday afternoon to watch the annual Chinese New Year Parade, with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot as a special guest.

The parade featured 68 units, including 13 floats, 28 marching groups, 9 marching bands as well as several lions and dragon dance teams. Several participants wore rat-style hats in celebration of the Spring Festival, which heralds in the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The year 2020 is the Year of the Rat on the lunar calendar.

Lauren White, a participant in the parade, told Xinhua it is cool wearing traditional Chinese clothes, watching vibrant lion and dragon dances in Chinatown during this special time.

Speaking at the celebration ceremony, Lori Lightfoot firstly congratulated the Chinese community on Chinese Lunar New Year, then thanked the Chinese community for their contribution to the development of Chicago city.

Chinese Consul General in Chicago Zhao Jian greeted the Chinese community in Chicago with a happy Chinese Lunar New Year. He highly praised their efforts to promote Chinese culture and mutual understandings between communities.

Chicago has been hosting annual celebrations of the Chinese Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, for the last seven years.

Apart from the parade on Sunday, other Chinese New Year-themed celebrations have been organized in Chicago over the past two weeks by the Chicago Cultural Center, the Chicago Symphony Center and the Chinese Fine Arts Society.