Today marks the start of the Chinese Lunar New Year 2019, the Year of the Pig. The last of the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, the pig is thought of as easygoing and fortunate. In the larger Chinese astrological cycle, this year is also associated with the element of earth, which makes 2019 the Year of the Earth Pig, exemplified by the traits of sociability, kindness, and thoughtfulness. People around the world ushered in the new year with displays of fireworks, family get-togethers, temple visits, and street festivals. Collected here are images from several countries where revelers have been welcoming the arrival of the earth pig.
Chinese Lunar New Year 2019
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A tour guide wearing a pig hat sends new-year greetings to tourists at the Yangzhou Slender West Lake scenic area in Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China, on February 1, 2019. #
Meng Delong / VCG via Getty -
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Lion dancers with LED lights perform on the glass deck of the King Power MahaNakhon building, currently Thailand's tallest structure, at 1,030 feet (314 meters) tall, in Bangkok, Thailand, on February 4, 2019. #
Sakchai Lalit / AP -
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An aerial view of villagers holding red lanterns and a pattern formed by Chinese knots reading "2019" to welcome the Chinese New Year at a scenic spot on January 29, 2019, in Fuzhou, Jiangxi province, China #
He Jianghua / VCG via Getty -
Chinese workers make traditional red lanterns at a local factory on January 24, 2019, in the village of Tuntou, Hebei province, China. Tuntou proclaims itself the lantern capital of China, as it produces millions of the symbolic red decorations associated with the country's biggest holiday of the year. #
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A Chinese worker makes a giant traditional red lantern outside at a local factory on January 24, 2019, in the village of Tuntou. In Tuntou, most of the lantern production takes place at small, family-owned factories that supply markets across China, Asia, and abroad. #
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Performers are silhouetted as they stand during a re-creation of a Qing-dynasty ceremony, in which emperors prayed for a good harvest and good fortune, at a temple fair at Ditan Park in Beijing on February 5, 2019. #
Mark Schiefelbein / AP -
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Roasted-pork-and-rice-flour buns depicting pigs are displayed in bamboo steamers as kitchen staff work at a dim-sum restaurant in Hong Kong on January 29, 2019, ahead of the Lunar New Year. #
Anthony Wallace / AFP / Getty -
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A woman holds a flower-shaped candle as she offers prayers on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year at Tanzhe Temple in the Mentougou district of Beijing on February 5, 2019. #
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Visitors enjoy a dip in a hot-pot–shaped hot-spring pool at a hotel in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China, on January 27, 2019. The hot spring was designed to promote a healthy lifestyle in the run-up to the Lunar New Year, or spring festival. #
AFP / Getty -
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Flames rise up from a pit into which visitors throw incense sticks while praying for good fortune to mark the start of the Lunar New Year at Longhua Temple in Shanghai late on February 4, 2019. #
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Colored lanterns featuring a phoenix are illuminated on the water during a lantern show for the Chinese New Year, the Year of the Pig, on January 27, 2019, at a scenic area in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China. #
Wei Yongxian / VCG via Getty -
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A giant-panda cub falls to the ground next to breeders during an event to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year at Shenshuping Panda Base in Wolong, Sichuan province, China, on January 31, 2019. #
China Daily / Reuters -
Visitors walk through a tunnel decorated with lanterns at a light show to celebrate the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year in Xian, Shaanxi, China, on February 1, 2019. #
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Three-month-old pigs run through an obstacle course at the Green Island Holiday Farm as part of an attraction marking the upcoming Lunar New Year in Zhangjiakou, Hebei province, China, on January 27, 2019. #
Thomas Peter / Reuters -
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Chinese worshippers hold incense as they pray for good fortune on the first day of the Lunar New Year at Yonghegong, or Lama Temple, on February 5, 2019, in Beijing. #
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A lion dance is performed in the Chinatown district of Yokohama, Japan on February 5, 2019. Thousands of people gathered in the largest Chinese community in Japan to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year. #
Tomohiro Ohsumi / Getty -
A woman lights incense while praying in a Chinese temple during celebrations for the Lunar New Year in the Chinatown district of Bangkok, Thailand, on February 4, 2019. #
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