The Year of the Snake is underway with Lunar New Year festivities in Asia and around the world
The holiday — known as the Spring Festival in China, Tet in Vietnam and Seollal in Korea — is a major festival celebrated by diaspora communities around the world. The snake, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, follows the just-ended Year of the Dragon.
The pop-pop-pop of firecrackers greeted the new year outside Guan Di temple in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, followed by lion dances to the rhythmic beat of drums and small cymbals.
Advertisement
Ethnic Chinese holding incense sticks in front of them bowed several times inside the temple before sticking the incense into elaborate gold-colored pots, the smoke rising from the burning tips.
Many Chinese who work in bigger cities return home during the eight-day national holiday in what is described as the world's biggest annual movement of humanity. Beijing, China's capital, has turned into a bit of a ghost town, with many shops closed and normally crowded roads and subways emptied out.
Traditionally, Chinese have a family dinner at home on New Year's Eve and visit 'temple fairs' on the Lunar New Year to watch performances and buy snacks, toys and other trinkets from booths.
Many Chinese take advantage of the extended holiday to travel both in the country and abroad. Ctrip, an online booking agency that operates Trip.com, said the most popular overseas destinations this year are Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, the United States, South Korea, Macao and Vietnam.
Russians cheered, waved and took smartphone photos of a colorful procession with drummers, costumed dancers and large dragon and snake figures held aloft that kicked off a 10-day Lunar New Year festival in Moscow on Tuesday night.
Advertisement
The Chinese and Russian governments have deepened ties since 2022, in part to push back against what they see as U.S. dominance of the world order.
Visitors shouted 'Happy New Year' in Russian and expressed delight at being able to experience Chinese food and culture in Moscow, including folk performances and booths selling snacks and artwork.
Associated Press video journalists Alice Fung in Hong Kong and Syawalludin Zain in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this story.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
Trump's visa pause and travel ban leave Colorado international students in limbo
Thousands of international students at Colorado universities face new threats from the federal government. State of play: The Trump administration is halting student visa interviews and revoking visas for Chinese students — part of a broader effort to pressure U.S. universities and tighten immigration rules. It also issued a travel ban, effective Monday, citing national security concerns. The order fully restricts and limits entry from 12 countries: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The Trump administration also partially restricted and limited entry of nationals from seven countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. By the numbers: About 10,000 international students were enrolled at Colorado colleges during the 2023–24 academic year, per NAFSA figures. The University of Colorado system counted 3,792 international students — including more than 500 from China — last fall across its four campuses, per CU data provided to Axios Denver. The University of Denver estimates it will sponsor more than 100 international students over the next academic year, spokesperson Jon Stone tells Axios Denver. Driving the news: On June 4, CU leaders issued guidance to international students and scholars from the 19 countries impacted by the new travel ban. "Given the rapid nature of changes in U.S. entry and travel restrictions, foreign nationals from one of the designated countries should exercise caution and seriously consider potential risks when deciding to travel outside of the United States." What they're saying: "We are monitoring closely the ongoing developments" at the federal level, CU spokesperson Michele Ames tells Axios Denver, noting how "difficult" it is to know how the visa changes and travel ban will affect current and prospective students. "Due to this uncertainty, we are focusing our efforts on supporting international students across all of our campuses as we all navigate these unknown waters together," Ames added. Meanwhile, DU is staying "in contact with all current and future students" about policy changes and has "also been in contact with our Colorado delegation about any potential impacts to the university," Stone tells Axios Denver. The big picture: International students are a major economic engine for college towns nationwide, including in Colorado.
Boston Globe
3 hours ago
- Boston Globe
Trump's new travel ban takes effect as tensions escalate over immigration enforcement. Follow live updates.
Trump's new travel ban takes effect as tensions escalate over immigration enforcement — 7:34 a.m. .cls-1{clip-path:url(#clippath);}.cls-2,.cls-3{fill:none;}.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-4{stroke-width:0px;}.cls-5{clip-path:url(#clippath-1);}.cls-3{clip-rule:evenodd;} Link copied By the Associated Press President Trump's new ban on travel to the US by citizens from 12 mainly African and Middle Eastern countries took effect Monday amid rising tension over the president's escalating campaign of immigration enforcement. Advertisement The new proclamation, which Trump signed last week, applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. It also imposes heightened restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the US and don't hold a valid visa. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The new ban does not revoke visas previously issued to people from countries on the list, according to guidance issued Friday to all US diplomatic missions. However, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting Monday. Protests intensify in Los Angeles after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops — 7:31 a.m. .cls-1{clip-path:url(#clippath);}.cls-2,.cls-3{fill:none;}.cls-2,.cls-3,.cls-4{stroke-width:0px;}.cls-5{clip-path:url(#clippath-1);}.cls-3{clip-rule:evenodd;} Link copied By the Associated Press Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump's extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs to control the crowd. Advertisement Some police patrolled the streets on horseback while others with riot gear lined up behind Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities including a detention center where some immigrants were taken in recent days. Police declared an unlawful assembly, and by early evening many people had left.
Business Insider
4 hours ago
- Business Insider
Boeing sent a new plane on a 3-day journey to China in fresh sign of easing trade tensions
Boeing has sent a plane to China for the first time since tariff tensions boiled over, ahead of further trade talks between the US and China. The 737 Max touched down in Zhoushan around noon local time on Monday, according to data from FlightAware. It concluded a lengthy transpacific journey that began on Friday, when the plane, registered as N230BE, flew from Seattle to Hawaii. On Saturday, it had another refuelling stop in Guam. China is 16 hours ahead of Seattle, so though the plane arrived three calendar days after it first took off at around 10 a.m. local time Friday, its journey was roughly 59 hours in total. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. This wasn't the first time that this jet, painted in the livery of Xiamen Airlines, crossed the ocean. Flight-tracking data shows it first departed Seattle in March, only to end up back there a month later. It was one of three planes that Boeing sent back to the US in April from its delivery center in Zhoushan after trade tensions escalated. President Donald Trump had introduced tariffs as high as 145%, and China retaliated by imposing a 125% fee on anything imported from the US. "Many of our customers in China have indicated they will not take delivery," Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said on an earnings call later that month. He added that around 50 planes would instead be resold to other airlines. However, tariff tensions have since eased. In May, talks saw the US reduce its levy on Chinese products to 30%, while China reduced its tariffs to 10%. On Monday, the two countries are set to meet for another round of talks in London in hopes of resolving the trade war. That's especially welcome news for Boeing. Ortberg said China accounts for about 10% of its commercial-aircraft order book. Meanwhile, rival planemaker Airbus predicts China will be the world's biggest market for aviation services by 2043, accounting for 20% of all aircraft deliveries. The European firm received a boost last week after Bloomberg reported that China is mulling an order for hundreds of Airbus jets. Airbus stock subsequently rose more than 3%.
