Pix: It's the Chinese Year of the Dog

Celebrations commenced February 16 to mark the start of the Chinese Year of the Dog.

A dish created in the shape of a dog is presented on a table (above).
Residents cook thousands of dishes and invite neighbours to have a taste, learn from others' cooking skills and to send blessing to each other on the 23rd or 24th days of the 12th month of the Chinese lunar year. February 16 marked the start of the Chinese Year of the Dog.
Photograph: Wang He/Getty Images

China has shut down for a week to celebrate the Chinese New Year welcoming the year of the Dog.

The event triggers the world's largest annual human migration where people go to their villages for family reunions.

All the government and private offices as well as most of business have been closed all over the country with millions of Chinese heading to home to be with their kin or for holiday destinations for tourist spots in China and abroad.

Around 380 million domestic trips are expected during the week-long holidays, the China National Tourism Bureau said.

A woman switches on lanterns outside a restaurant in Chinatown to celebrate Chinese New Year in London, England.
Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

The Chinese New Year also known as Spring Festival is celebrated for about a month. The official holiday however lasts for a week.

There is a mad scramble for air, rail and bus tickets. Reports say highways are also clogged with heavy traffic.

Official media accounts say nearly 2.98 billion trips are expected to be made during the Chunyun or Spring Festival travel rush, and hundreds of thousands of Chinese, mostly migrant workers, will go home using every means of transport including motorcycles.

After the week, the return rush starts in the same way. Considering the numbers, it is regarded as the world's biggest annual human migration.

A woman sells souvenirs from a stall outside a restaurant in Chinatown, London, England ahead of Chinese New Year.
Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images

This year China bids farewell to the year of Rooster and welcome the year of the Dog.

In the Chinese lunar calendar, years are grouped into a 12-year cycle, with each year assigned to an animal symbols, including rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Check your animal symbol based on your year of birth given below.

Based on your year of birth, find out which sign you belong to:

The Sheep: 1919, 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015

The Monkey: 1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016

The Rooster: 1921, 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017

The Dog: 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018

The Pig: 1923, 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007

The Rat: 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008

The Ox: 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009

The Tiger: 1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010

The Rabbit: 1915, 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011

The Dragon: 1916, 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012

The Snake: 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013

The Horse: 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014