NEW YORK, Jan. 29 -- The Empire State Building (ESB) in New York will be lit up in the colors of red and yellow Thursday evening to ring in the Lunar New Year, a traditional holiday to celebrate the beginning of a year in Chinese culture.

This Lunar New Year rings in the Year of the Horse, a symbol of good luck in China, said ESB Observatory Director Jean-Yves Ghazi at a lighting ceremony Wednesday morning.

The colors of red and yellow at the tower of the building is expected to bring happiness and wealth to the Chinese and American peoples.

Consul General Sun Guoxiang, on behalf of China's Consulate General in New York, also presided over the lighting ceremony, pulling a giant light switch together with Ghazi to illuminate the red and yellow lights of the building's model.

The year of 2014 marks the 35th anniversary of the establishment of China-U.S. relations, Sun said, adding that decorating the New York landmark building with Chinese traditional festive colors reflects the increasing exchanges between the two peoples and that the light will attract more American people to know more about Chinese traditional culture.

Since 2001, with the support of the ESB management and the Chinese community in New York, an annual lighting ceremony has been put in place as a custom, which has attracted wide attention throughout Asia and the Asian American community in the United States.