A coffee shop in South Korea has new residents, Elsa and Anna, to celebrate the Lunar New Year. (Photo : Reuters)
Manila, Philippines
For artist Ram Mallari, this is the Year of the Ram. Using recycled materials, the artist created a ram sculpture to honor the Chinese Lunar New Year. Upon presentation of the sculpture, Mallari said that the ram for him is a symbol of luck and he expects good things for the coming year.
Mallari added: "The ram is very symbolic to me because it stands for my name and my flight as an artist, and this year a lot of people have commissioned me to do works for them. I feel that this year is different and the ram is very lucky to me."
Seoul, South Korea
A cafe in Seoul opted to go for real livestock to welcome the Lunar Year. Thanks Nature Cafe brought two live year-old sheep in their coffee shop to welcome the new year and people have been coming to feed them. Named after the famous characters in the Disney movie "Frozen," Elsa and Anna, the cafe's cute and fluffy temporary residents are the stars of the season.
Catlin Sirkel, a Shanghai teacher on holiday in South Korea, said: "I'm an international teacher in Shanghai so I know about the year of the sheep. I thought it would be a really cool way to spend my Chinese New Year in the sheep cafe. So seeing the sheep, they were really cute and fun and fluffy. It was a really cool experience to be able to feed them."
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Lunar New Year in Cambodia is not always commemorated with animals, but rather, with plants and trees. Cambodia has an estimated Chinese population of 700,000. Chinese residents buy and display auspicious plants, orange and kumquat trees.
Phonm Penh plant vendor Hang Sella said that the Chinese people believe that yellow flower plants represent prosperity.
She said: "The Chinese put these plants and flowers all over their houses, shops and even tombstones."
Singapore
The Lunar Year coincided with Singapore's 50th year of independence. The dual celebrations will have the largest, most extravagant lights and fireworks ceremony for the past 29 years.
Paris, France
From the depths of the archives of Xinhua News Agency come giant photos depicting China's development and progress since the 20th century. The photo exhibit draws large crowds, Chinese and non-Chinese alike, admiring China's history in photos.
Americas and Europe
The Lunar Year happened to coincide with international festivals being celebrated in the Americas and Europe, and the dragon dance is ever present representing the Chinese people in those vast continents.
