Chinese New Year also known as the Lunar New Year or the Spring festival sees colourful and spectacular events across the globe.
The ‘Spring Festival’ is China’s most important festival and holiday and falls on Friday February 16, beginning the lunar new year of the dog.
The date of Chinese New Year is decided by the Chinese lunar calendar and it changes every year – it can fall any time between January 21 and February 20.
It’s traditionally celebrated for 16 days, from the eve to Lantern Festival (March 2018) and each Chinese year is associated with an animal sign according to the Chinese zodiac.
The Chinese New Year has been associated with the Chinese Zodiac since the Spring Autumn Period (771 to 476 BC).
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2018 is known as the lunar new year of the dog.
The Chinese Zodiac runs on a cycle of 12 years, with each year denoting one of the 12 animals.
The 12 animals are Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig.
In China, celebrations vary greatly across the country, in the North, Chinese dumplings are the most-eaten food on Chinese New Year’s Eve, but south of the Yangtze River most people eat spring rolls or sticky rice cake.
The celebrations are normally marked by riotous bursts of fireworks and firecrackers, however many large cities, including Beijing, have heavily restricted their use this year to help prevent smog.
Festivities are held in Asian countries around the world, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mauritius, Australia, and the Philippines.
In London, more than 700,000 attend the largest Chinese New Year celebrations outside of Asia – which take place on Sunday February 18 – kicking off with a colourful parade in Charing Cross Road, before it makes its way down through Chinatown.
Pictures of celebrations from across the world show Chinese communities as they prepare for the New Year.
In Shangqiu, China folk artists perform a fire dragon dance under a shower of sparks and at the Longhua temple in Shanghai, people pray with incense sticks.
Celebrations will continue from New Year’s Eve until the Lantern Festival (March 2 2018) and the coming seven-day Spring Festival will be a public holiday in China from February 15-21.