Due to the fact that the Chinese New Year is being celebrated according to the lunar calendar, it doesn't have a fixed date, so this year it fell on the new moon on February 16. Traditionally, the celebrations continue several days, ending with the Lantern Festival.
The Lunar New Year (an unofficial name of the Chinese New Year) is being celebrated around the world.
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People pray with incense sticks to celebrate the Lunar New Year, marking the Year of the Dog, at the Longhua temple in Shanghai.
Chinese people walk in a maze at the Tang Paradise Park in Xian, Shaanxi province ahead of the coming Lunar New Year, marking the Year of the Dog.
Folk artists perform a fire dragon dance under a shower of sparks from molten iron, ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, in Shangqiu, Henan province, China.
A man and a woman pose with their dog among ice sculptures during Lunar New Year celebrations in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Ethnic-Chinese offers prayers and burn incense for good luck on the first day of the Lunar New Year at Sin Sze Si Ya Temple in Kuala Lumpur's popular Chinatown area on February 16 marking the start of the Year of the Dog.
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© AP Photo / Mark Schiefelbein
People discard incense into a cauldron as they pray on the first day of the Lunar New Year at the Lama Temple in Beijing.
A couple kiss below Chinese lanterns during a countdown welcoming the Chinese Lunar new year in Binondo district, metro Manila, Philippines.
A professional diver wears an underwater Prosperity God costume, while swimming inside an aquarium, as part of their show celebrating Chinese New Year at Manila Ocean Park (MOP) in Metro Manila, Philippines.
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© AP Photo / Ashwini Bhatia
Exiled Tibetan Buddhist monks in ceremonial hats play long horns as they conduct early morning prayers to welcome their New Year called Losar in Dharmsala, India.
Dancers with traditional Pekin Opera costume, prepare to parade near Tang Paradise park in Xian, Shaanxi province.
Visitors place incense sticks into a pot at a Chinese temple to mark the start of the Lunar New Year in Kuta near Denpasar on Indonesia's Bali island.
Giant panda cubs play with decorations during an event to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year of Dog, at Shenshuping Panda Base in Wolong, Sichuan province, China.
A Thai girl is dressed in traditional Chinese clothing during a Warm Welcome ceremony to Chinese tourists for the Lunar New Year at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.
Shoppers look at decorative stuffed toy dogs for sale at a shop on the eve of the Lunar New Year in the Chinatown district in Singapore.
A farmer tends peach blossom flowers for sale ahead of the Vietnamese "Tet" (Lunar New Year festival), in a field in Hanoi, Vietnam.
A Chihuahua dog wearing a costume made of recyclable materials is seen in Chinatown, in Mexico City.
An Ethnic-Chinese devotee burns joss-sticks and offers prayers at the Thean Hou temple decorated with red lanterns in Kuala Lumpur on the eve of the Lunar New Year marking the start of the year of the dog.
Dancers wearing costumes as terracotta warriors, prepare to parade near Tang Paradise park in Xian, Shaanxi province.
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© AP Photo / Niranjan Shrestha
Tibetan people gather to celebrate Loshar, Tibetan New Year, in Kathmandu, Nepal. Tibetans across the world marked the arrival of the New Year with prayers and festivities.
South Koreas chief of the Korean Sport and Olympic Committee Lee Kee Heung attends a traditional ceremony with other olypic officials and athletes marking the Lunar New Year, at the South Korea house in the Gangneung Olympic Park.
Chinese National Rao Wei poses with a Chinese flag during a fireworks display over the Hudson River to kick off Chinese New Year celebrations in Manhattan, New York, US.
