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
