The annual event sees dancing lions, acrobats and floats parade from Shaftesbury Avenue to Trafalgar Square.
The new year, also known as the Spring Festival, is based on the lunar Chinese calendar so it changes each year.
Each year is marked by one of 12 animals that appear on the Chinese zodiac. This year is the year of the Rooster.
The event in London is said to be one of the biggest outside Asia.

A parade and service was held at Blandford Camp where thousands of sailors from the Collingwood Battalion trained.
The Princess Royal attended the ceremony at the battalion's memorial.
The service commemorated those who died during the Third Battle of Krithia on the Turkish peninsula.
The battalion were almost totally destroyed during the eight-month campaign that was fought from 25 April 1915 to 9 January 1916.
More than 100,000 troops were killed and hundreds of thousands more were wounded.

Kevin Nunes was shot dead in September 2002 but five men jailed for his murder were freed on appeal.
Police and crime commissioner (PCC) Matthew Ellis said Mrs Sawyers had "no case to answer on misconduct or gross misconduct" relating to the case.
Ms Sawyers welcomed the decision.
Police believe Mr Nunes was a drug dealer who was shot in an execution-style killing in Pattingham after straying into another gang's territory.
But the men jailed for his murder were freed after it emerged concerns over the credibility of witnesses were not disclosed to the defence.
This prompted an investigation into the police's handling of a key witness and how disclosure was dealt with afterwards.
In January 2014, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said it would be submitting files to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) over the case for prosecuting senior officers, including Mrs Sawyers, for either attempting to pervert the course of justice or criminal misconduct.
However, the CPS said there was not enough evidence to proceed.
Publishing his response, Mr Ellis said while it was clear "something went wrong in relation to the investigation of the murder", Mrs Sawyers was not guilty of misconduct.
"My conclusion is that, whilst there were undoubtedly different actions and decisions that should have been taken at the time, the IPCC report does not produce evidence Mrs Sawyers has a case to answer in respect of misconduct or gross misconduct," he said.
"I have been clear, however, Jane Sawyers could have been more intrusive and sceptical about the actions of others at the time."
Mrs Sawyers said: "I welcome the determination the police and crime commissioner has reached."
The IPCC said it was waiting for all of the forces involved, including West Midlands Police, to respond to its report.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets of central London to celebrate Chinese New Year.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
The centenary of the Gallipoli campaign - one of the bloodiest of World War One - has been marked with a memorial in Dorset.
[NEXT_CONCEPT]
The temporary chief constable of Staffordshire Police, Jane Sawyers, will not face misconduct charges over the fatal shooting of an alleged drug dealer, the force's commissioner has said.