Lunar New Year 2012: Year of the Dragon
Two weeks of celebrations are under way as communities around the world mark the arrival of Chinese/Lunar New Year. The 15-day event, which runs until February 6, marks the onset of the Year of the Dragon.
A child watches a man performing a lion dance at the 2012 Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade in Hong Kong on January 23, 2012.
A performer wearing a Panda costume parades along with an 18 meter long dragon at Malang city park in East Java province on January 20, 2012 ahead of the Chinese Lunar new year festivity.
Members of the chinese community in India celebrate the Chinese New Year in Kolkata, on January 23, 2012.
Members of the chinese community perform a dragon dance as they celebrate the Chinese New Year in Kolkata, on January 23, 2012.
People perform during an underwater theatre show celebreting Chinese New Year in the Ancol park in Jakarta on January 23, 2012
Filipinos sell colored quails as they mark Chinese New Year in the Binondo Chinatown district of Manila, Philippines, 23 January 2012.
Woman pray at a Buddhist temple in Denpasar, on the Hindu majority island of Bali on January 23, 2012,
Performers from the cheerleading squad of the National Football League team St. Louis Rams performs at the 2012 Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade in Hong Kong on January 23, 2012
A worshipper burns incense in prayer at the Lama Temple, one of the most renowned Tibetan monastery outside Tibet, wishing for good luck and good fortune on the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Dragon in Beijing, China,
Performers wearing costumes of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) take part in a worship ceremony in Tiantan Park, or the Temple of Heaven, in Beijing
Traditional street performers entertain local residents at a Temple Fair at Dongyue Temple in downtown Beijing, China,
Members of the Chinese community in Peru watch a performance as part of the celebrations for the Chinese New Year, with a banner of Chinese leaders in the background, in Lima
Chinese living in Ukraine carry a dragon on January 22, 2012 as they celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year in the western city of Lviv.
Fireworks over Hoan Kiem Lake marking the first day of Tet, or Vietnamese traditional lunar new year in Hanoi, Vietnam
A reveller writes the "Dragon" in traditional Chinese characters and 2012 with fireworks in Beijing
Portrait of a performer on the eve of the New Year of the Dragon at a park in Beijing, China
Actors perform the dragon dance on the eve of the New Year of the Dragon at a park in Beijing, China,
Actors perform on the eve of the New Year of the Dragon at a park in Beijing, China
Performers take part in a traditional Qing Dynasty ceremony in which emperors prayed for good fortune, during the opening of an annual fair at the Temple of Earth park in Beijing on January 22, 2012.
A fire breather performs in Chinatown in Manila a day before the Chinese New Year on January 22, 2012.
A vendor arranges colorful boxes of fireworks on a street stall selling firecrackers and fireworks in Beijing, China
A man gives thanks to his ancestors in North Korea during the Lunar New Year's holiday at Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, near the border fence with North Korea, 23 January 2012. Every year, people whose hometowns are in North Korea gather near the border to celebrate traditional rituals.