A design sketch of the light show at the Empire State Building in New York City. Photos provided to China Daily

Public artworks, a light show and fireworks created by Chinese artists will dazzle New York City, inviting locals to join Chinese New Year celebrations from Feb 17-24.

Part of the annual "Happy Chinese New Year" overseas activities backed by the Ministry of Culture, the "Fantastic Art China" program has brought together professionals from the China Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA), blending the creativity of contemporary Chinese art with Spring Festival traditions.

Installations by six artists will be on display at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. At the Avery Fisher Hall, Xu Jiang, head of the Hangzhou-based China Academy of Art, will show his steel sculpture Symbiosis that combines nearly 400 sunflowers. Zhan Wang, a professor at CAFA, will display his signature work Fake Mountain Stone and his colleague Huang Jiancheng, chief designer of the Chinese Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010, will present a 3-D animated video recreating the momentous painting "Qingming Shanghe Tu" (Along the River during the Qingming Festival).