A dancer prepares for a lion dance performance at the Ditan Park Temple Fair in Beijing on January 29, on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Snake. — AFP

In pictures: Hundreds of millions in Asia celebrate Year of the Snake

Eight consecutive public holidays give Chinese residents an opportunity to share meals, attend traditional performances and set off firecrackers.
Published January 29, 2025

Hundreds of millions of people across Asia celebrate the Chinese New Year with their families on Wednesday, as they bid farewell to the Year of the Dragon and usher in the Year of the Snake.

The Chinese enjoy eight consecutive public holidays for the 2025 Spring Festival, an opportunity to share meals, attend traditional performances and set off firecrackers and fireworks.

Train stations and airports across the country have been jam-packed for weeks as millions returned home to spend the holidays with their loved ones in an annual migration that is expected to be a record.

High streets, shopping malls, offices and homes are bedecked in festive red banners — believed to ward off evil — throughout many parts of East and Southeast Asia, including South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

 People take pictures with stalls selling red Chinese-style clothes in the Chinatown district of Bangkok on January 29, on the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Snake. — AFP
People take pictures with stalls selling red Chinese-style clothes in the Chinatown district of Bangkok on January 29, on the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Snake. — AFP

 A folk dancer performs for the crowd at the Ditan Park Temple Fair in Beijing on January 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Snake. — AFP
A folk dancer performs for the crowd at the Ditan Park Temple Fair in Beijing on January 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Snake. — AFP

 A folk dancer prepares to perform at the Ditan Park Temple Fair in Beijing on January 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Snake. — AFP
A folk dancer prepares to perform at the Ditan Park Temple Fair in Beijing on January 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Snake. — AFP

 A performer dressed as an emperor sits in a sedan chair during a reenactment of a royal ceremony from the Qing Dynasty, on the first day of the Lunar New Year at the Temple of Earth in Beijing, China on January 29. — Reuters
A performer dressed as an emperor sits in a sedan chair during a reenactment of a royal ceremony from the Qing Dynasty, on the first day of the Lunar New Year at the Temple of Earth in Beijing, China on January 29. — Reuters

 People walk in a street decorated with lanterns at a carnival on the eve of the Chinese New Year of the Snake in Beijing on January 28. — AFP
People walk in a street decorated with lanterns at a carnival on the eve of the Chinese New Year of the Snake in Beijing on January 28. — AFP

 Performers create sparks with molten steel at a Chinese New Year lantern festival in Nantong, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province on January 27.— AFP
Performers create sparks with molten steel at a Chinese New Year lantern festival in Nantong, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province on January 27.— AFP

 Members of EngKor troupe, engaged in traditional Thai-Chinese performance art, prepare backstage ahead of their show on the eve of the Chinese New Year at a department store in Bangkok, Thailand on January 28. — Reuters
Members of EngKor troupe, engaged in traditional Thai-Chinese performance art, prepare backstage ahead of their show on the eve of the Chinese New Year at a department store in Bangkok, Thailand on January 28. — Reuters

 A shop owner sits at her stall ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in Bangkok’s Chinatown, Thailand on January 26. — Reuters
A shop owner sits at her stall ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations in Bangkok’s Chinatown, Thailand on January 26. — Reuters

 People perform with a Chinese dragon during the Chinese New Year celebrations in Havana’s Chinatown, Cuba on January 28. — Reuters
People perform with a Chinese dragon during the Chinese New Year celebrations in Havana’s Chinatown, Cuba on January 28. — Reuters

 People walk through Chinatown ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year in London, England on January 28. — Reuters
People walk through Chinatown ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year in London, England on January 28. — Reuters

 A worshipper reacts as he prays during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations, Year of the Snake, at Gayatri temple in Depok, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia on January 29. — Reuters
A worshipper reacts as he prays during the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations, Year of the Snake, at Gayatri temple in Depok, on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia on January 29. — Reuters

 Members of the Chinese community take pictures during traditional dragon and lion dances, in Kolkata on January 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Snake. — AFP
Members of the Chinese community take pictures during traditional dragon and lion dances, in Kolkata on January 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Snake. — AFP

 Japanese tourists, Neika, Madoka, Karin, Miyu and Ayaka pose for a picture as they visit Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn in Bangkok, on the eve of Chinese New Year, on January 28. — Reuters
Japanese tourists, Neika, Madoka, Karin, Miyu and Ayaka pose for a picture as they visit Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn in Bangkok, on the eve of Chinese New Year, on January 28. — Reuters


Header image: A dancer prepares for a lion dance performance at the Ditan Park Temple Fair in Beijing on January 29, on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Snake. — AFP