Georgia Brown February 8, 2013

Chinese New Year celebrations around the world – in pictures

From Beijing to Bangkok, Stockholm to London, communities around the world get ready to celebrate the Chinese New Year and welcome in the year of the snake

Chinese New Year 2013: Ditan Park in Beijing — Trees are decorated with red lanterns ahead of Chinese New Year celebrations at Ditan Park in Beijing. The New Year – the year of the snake – falls on 10 February this year. Ancient Temple Fairs are a highlight of the city's celebrations, lasting for days with parades, acrobats, opera singers and plenty of traditional foods Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

Chinese New Year 2013: Chinese New Year, Beijing, China — A Chinese actor is dressed as a Qing Dynasty servant during a rehearsal of an ancient Qing Dynasty ceremony for the upcoming Chinese New Year event at Ditan Park in Beijing Photograph: Andy Wong/AP

Chinese New Year 2013: China Town in London prepares to celebrate Year of the Snake — Shop decorations go up in London's Chinatown as they get ready to celebrate the year of the snake. The city's celebrations will kick off on Sunday 10 February with a procession to Trafalgar Square, with highlights including a concert with performers such as the Chen Brothers Flying Lion Dance and Hong Kong-born singer Emmy The Great, ending with a fireworks display. See chinatownlondon.org/ for details Photograph: Yanice Idir/Corbis

Chinese New Year 2013: Chinese New Year Lanterns, Cambodia — A man browses Chinese Lunar New Year lanterns at a shop in Phnom Penh, Cambodia Photograph: Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP

Chinese New Year 2013: Chinese lunar new year of the Snake, Taiwan — People handle genetically modified, auspicious, white snakes on the altar at the Temple of White Snakes in Taoyuan county, in north-western Taiwan Photograph: Wally Santana/AP

Chinese New Year 2013: Solo, Central Java, Indonesia — In Surakarta (Solo) in Central Java, Indonesia, the minority Chinese population mark New Year a week earlier with a celebration called Grebeg Sudiro. Here they present a display of cone-shaped offerings of crops and cakes Photograph: Alamy

Chinese New Year 2013: Chinese New Year, Kaili, China — Women of Dong ethnic group in Kaili, Guizhou province, China, make new clothing made from handmade cloth traditionally worn to welcome in the New Year Photograph: Xinhua /Landov /Barcroft Media

Chinese New Year 2013: Writing Chinese New Year greeting in Bangkok — A calligrapher works on Chinese New Year greetings on Charoen Krung Road in Bangkok's Chinatown. Chinese New Year is not an official public holiday in Thailand, but the festival is a huge celebration for both the city's large Chinese population and those of non Thai-Chinese descent. Festivities in Bangkok will centre on and around Yaowarat Road in the heart of Chinatown, where this year's highlights include a Tibetan performance
Photograph: www.alamy.com Photograph: Alamy

Chinese New Year 2013: Chinese New Year, Changsha, China — A young girl views festive lanterns in the build up to the new lunar year in Changsha, China Photograph: Xinhua /Landov/Barcroft Media

Chinese New Year 2013: Preparation for Chinese New Year in Manila — Around 200 Filipino dancers perform a Chinese dragon dance for the upcoming New Year festival in Chinatown, Manila, Philippines. Lucky charms, fortunetellers, symbols, firecrackers, and varieties of reds flood the streets for days before the celebration Photograph: Dennis M Sabangan/EPA

Chinese New Year 2013: Workers carry a giant candle to a Buddhi — Workers carry a giant candle to a Buddhist temple in the Indonesian capital city of Jakarta as the Muslim majority country's minority Chinese-Indonesians prepares to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year Photograph: Romeo Gacad/AFP

Chinese New Year 2013: Chinese New Year, Sweden, Stockholm — Performers from China's Jiangsu Overseas Chinese Art Group prepare before a gala to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year in Stockholm, Sweden. The city's East Asia Museum will mark the festival with a parade, calligraphy workshops, dragon painting and a concert varldskulturmuseerna.se Photograph: Liu Yinan/Corbis

Leave a Comment Cancel comment