In china, hundreds of millions of people are preparing to celebrate Lunar New Year which begins in 19 February as a public holiday in many places with ethnic Chinese populations such as Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia
In this special occasion, a number of celebratory events started with amazing fireworks, lights and candles around the city.
To celebrate the lunar New Year, red envelopes, known as hong bao in China and ang pao in Indonesia, are filled with money and given as gifts to symbolise good luck, but in Singapore, families celebrate New Year with a tradition known as lo hei, which means ‘tossing up good fortune’ in Cantonese. At the start of family reunion dinners before New Year, raw fish, symbolising the abundance of wealth and long life, is tossed into a salad.
According to a stampede at New Year event in January which left 36 people dead, Chinese government declares that Celebrations in Shanghai, and in many other Chinese cities will be toned down this year. Hong Kong leader CY Leung delivers a message to citizens urging them to “be like sheep”.
Here are some festive appearances in China: