The British city of Liverpool is to host a nine-month-long festival of the best of Chinese contemporary art and culture next year to mark the city's 10th anniversary as the 2008 European Capital of Culture, city hall officials announced on Thursday.

Full details of the festival will be announced in January, they said, adding that the Year of the Dog celebrations in Europe's oldest Chinatown will begin the festival under the banner of "China Dream".

The 2018 Chinese New Year celebrations will not just bigger than ever, but also signal the start of the China Dream festival.

New Year festivities will run the length of Berry Street in Chinatown, while a spectacular projection show will illuminate the city's Chinese Arch, the largest outside the Chinese mainland, and surrounding buildings, accompanied by music from popular Chinese artists.

There will also be a Chinese New Year pyrotechnic display which city officials say "will blow your socks off".

February's launch of China Dream also coincides with the opening of the Terra-cotta Warriors exhibition at World Museum Liverpool, which is destined to attract visitors from both home and abroad to enjoy the rare experience of seeing the famous ancient artifacts on British soil.