BEIJING — Firecrackers popped, incense was offered at temples and dancers and drummers paraded Wednesday in Asia and farther afield as millions around the world celebrated the Lunar New Year.

Before the pandemic, the timing seemed perfect, too, coinciding with the Lunar New Year, when the nation is at its most cheerful. Advertisement Now, though, much of the joy has been displaced.

In Beijing, the Lunar New Year has been a bigger preoccupation for many residents, while others have gone back to their hometowns for the holiday. Skip to content Skip to site index.

BEIJING — Firecrackers popped, incense was offered at temples and dancers and drummers paraded Wednesday in Asia and farther afield as millions around the world celebrated the Lunar New Year.

BEIJING — Firecrackers popped, incense was offered at temples and dancers and drummers paraded Wednesday in Asia and farther afield as millions around the world celebrated the Lunar New Year.

Chinese artists perform a lion dance at the Dongyue Temple on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year in Beijing on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025.

Hairdresser Wang Lidan is making an emotional Lunar New Year journey from Beijing to her hometown in northeastern China — her first in three years after the government lifted its strict “zero ...

A woman directs passengers at the departure hall at the Beijing West Railway Station ahead of the Lunar New Year in Beijing on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025.

A cartoon tiger is displayed as shoppers wearing face masks to help protect fro the coronavirus ride on escalators at a mall during the Lunar New Year Eve in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022.

Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday. In Beijing, people crowded the Lama Temple at dawn while big crowds also ...

BEIJING (AP) — Lunar New Year festivals and prayers marked the start of the Year of the Snake around Asia and farther afield on Wednesday — including in Moscow.