Atyrau's Nauryz blends cultural parades with bold green initiatives

Atyrau's Nauryz blends cultural parades with bold green initiatives

Erica Berry
Erica Berry•
• 2 Min.
A vibrant Chinese New Year celebration in a shopping mall featuring people in costumes dancing, others sitting and holding phones, with flags, banners, decorations, railings, pillars, and ceiling lights in the background.

Atyrau's Nauryz blends cultural parades with bold green initiatives

Atyrau marked Nauryz with a vibrant mix of cultural events and green initiatives. The city hosted a grand Parade of National Costumes, showcasing traditional attire from 25 ethnic groups. Alongside the festivities, environmental efforts included tree-planting campaigns and educational exhibitions on ancient crafts.

The celebrations kicked off with the Parade of National Costumes, drawing nearly four thousand participants. Represented groups included Kazakh, Russian, Tatar, Ukrainian, and Azerbaijani communities, alongside Korean, German, and Uyghur associations. The parade highlighted cultural diversity, with each delegation wearing traditional clothing.

At the Atyrau Regional History and Local Lore Museum, an exhibition titled *Art Born from the Spindle* opened during Nauryz. Visitors attended a spinning master class, learning techniques from ancient craft traditions. The display aimed to preserve and promote heritage skills. Environmental action played a key role in the festivities. A mass tree-planting event saw 100 saplings of different species added to the city's green spaces. This effort builds on Atyrau's long-term greening programme, which planted 891 pines and firs in 2025, along with 1,500 ash trees. By 2026, the city plans to introduce around five thousand more trees and shrubs, improving air quality and urban comfort.

The Nauryz celebrations in Atyrau combined cultural pride with ecological progress. The parade and exhibitions strengthened community ties, while the tree-planting campaigns expanded the city's green infrastructure. Further planting is scheduled for 2026 as part of Atyrau's ongoing environmental strategy.