Chinese New Year celebrations around the world

Two people watch fireworks explode over Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong on Jan. 24. Thousands watched the fireworks display on the second day of Chinese New Year to usher in the Year of the Dragon. It is celebrated from the first day of the first month of the lunar year and ends with Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day.

Performers take part in "Tai Ge" during the second day of the Chinese New Year on Jan. 24 at a park in Nanjing, China. "Tai Ge," also known as "Lift Pavilion," is a traditional show with performers on a steel frame and costumes to make it seem like they are standing or being lifted in an impossible way.

A woman swallows a live snake as she performs on a small stage showcasing acts of magic and feats of unusual physical abilities Jan. 24 at the temple fair in Ditan Park, also known as the Temple of Earth, in Beijing.

Residents carry a dragon built from wooden benches and decorations as they perform a dragon dance Jan. 24, the second day of the Chinese New Year, at a village in Wuhu, China.

People offer flowers in front of a statue of the late Kim Il Sung to celebrate the Lunar New Year on Jan. 23 in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Swimmers perform during an underwater theater show celebrating the Chinese New Year on Jan. 23 in Ancol park in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Thousands of people visit a lantern festival to celebrate the Chinese New Year of the Dragon in Shanghai on Jan. 23.

Worshippers burn incense in prayer at the Lama Temple, one of the most renowned Tibetan monasteries outside Tibet, wishing for good luck and good fortune on the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Dragon in Beijing, China, on Jan. 23. On the first day of the lunar new year, according to Chinese tradition, many pray for health, wealth and happiness.

A performer dressed in traditional costume and wearing make-up prepares to take part in Chinese New Year celebrations at the 700-year-old Dongyue Temple in Beijing on Jan. 23. The temple is the largest of its kind in northern China for the Zhengyi school of Taoism, and was originally built by Taoist monks in the 14th century.

Worshippers burn incense sticks in their first visit of the Year of the Dragon at Longhua Temple in Shanghai, China, early on Jan. 23.

Go Byung-sam, a North Korean refugee, right, and his wife Suh Jung-hoon bow to show respect to their ancestors in North Korea in front of a barbed wire fence as they celebrate the Lunar New Year at the Imjingak Pavilion, in Paju, South Korea, on Jan. 23.

Filipinos perform a dragon dance outside a grocery store as they mark the Chinese New Year in the Binondo Chinatown district of Manila, Philippines, on Jan. 23.

A performer breaths fire during a dragon dance performance in celebration of the Chinese New Year in Manila's Chinatown district on Jan. 23 in the Philippines.

People hold incense sticks as they pray during the first day of the Lunar New Year at Dharma Bhakti temple in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Jan. 23.

Chinese folk artists perform the lion dance at a temple fair to celebrate the Lunar New Year of Dragon on Jan. 22 in Beijing, China.

Passengers line up to board a train at Shanghai Railway Station, as millions of Chinese head home to celebrate the Lunar New Year, in Shanghai, China, on Jan. 19.

Chinese employees dress as gods of fortune to attract customers while distributing discount vouchers outside a shopping mall in Beijing, China, on Jan. 17. China will celebrate the Lunar New Year on Jan. 23.

A Chinese calligrapher writes various Chinese characters meaning "dragon" as people begin to celebrate the Year of Dragon in Weifang, China, on Jan. 16.

Visitors walk through a tunnel made up of lanterns which have been set up for the upcoming Spring Festival in Xi'an, China, on Jan. 16.

Dancers perform during a parade held to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year in Solo, Central Java, Indonesia, on Jan. 15. People of Chinese descent in the world's most populous Muslim country are gearing up to celebrate the Lunar New Year later this month.

Malaysian students participate in a Chinese calligraphy event in conjunction with the upcoming Chinese New Year at Tsun Jin High School in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Jan. 14.

A man carries his belongings as he walks through the hall of Wuchang Railway Station in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 8. Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, is the biggest of two "Golden Week" holidays, giving migrant workers their only chance of the year to return to their home provinces with gifts for their families. More than 200 million people are expected to take to the railways over this year's holiday.