The Chinese Lunar New Year, which is a centuries-old tradition known as Spring Festival in the country. The age-old festival serves as a strong uniting force, and is also a time for celebrating traditional activities.
In Beijing, 21 main tourist sites saw a total of around 280,000 visitors on Friday, three times more than last year. Among the most popular landmarks was the Lama Temple, which saw 76,000 guests pass through its sacred gates.
Many lit incense sticks and made wishes for good luck in the New Year. In northwest Gansu’s Ku-shui County, stilt walking performances are favoured by both young and old. Compared with ordinary stilt walking, people there perform on much higher ones, about 3.3 meters tall. Families train their children from a young age.
The ultimate performers are selected from the most skilful in the county. In north-east Hei-long-jiang’s Xue-xiang Village, a sleigh race drew hundreds of competitors and visitors. The race winner says the competition signifies "taking the lead" and "success".