In Photos: Chinese Across Asia Ring in the Year of the Dog

People burn incense sticks to celebrate Chinese New Year.

(Photo: AP)

China shut down for a week to celebrate the Chinese New Year on Thursday, 16 February. Year 2018 marks the year of the dog in China.

All the government and private offices as well as most of businesses across the country have closed, with millions of people heading home to be with their kin or go on a holiday either in their home country or abroad.

Year 2018 marks the year of the dog in China.(Photo: AP)

The Chinese New Year, also known as Spring Festival is celebrated for about a month. The official holiday, however, lasts for a week.

This year, China bids farewell to the year of Rooster and welcomes the year of the Dog.

Lion dancers perform as they celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, parading through China Town in Yokohama, near Tokyo.(Photo: AP)

In the Chinese lunar calendar, years are grouped into a 12-year cycle, with each year assigned to an animal symbol, including rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Most of the places all over the country are decorated with buntings featuring a dog.

A fire-eater performs on the street in celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year Friday at Manila Chinatown in Philippines.(Photo: AP)

"Chinese people's way of celebrating the festival has changed from a carnival ritual to a more restrained and environmentally friendly manner, due to lifestyle changes and concerns over pollution," Zhang Yiwu, a professor of Chinese literature at Peking University, told the state-run Global Times.

A man holds a child as they pose for a photo near a pathway decorated for the Lunar New Year at a public park in Beijing.(Photo: AP)

The Chinese government is also promoting the festival abroad to promote their culture.

Chinese New Year celebrations will also be held in more than 400 cities in over 130 countries and regions, a government announcement said.

A giant illuminated dog for the upcoming Year of the Dog is displayed as part of Lunar New Year festivities at Chenghuang Temple in Shanghai.(Photo: AP)

People use candles to light joss sticks as they pray at a temple on the first day of the Lunar New Year in Shanghai.(Photo: AP)

A woman places incense sticks during celebrations of the Lunar New Year at a temple in Bali, Indonesia.(Photo: AP)

Tourists ring a giant bell to celebrate the Chinese New Year in Beijing.(Photo: AP)

Lion dancers perform as they celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year in Japan.(Photo: AP)

Indonesian ethnic Chinese release birds which is believed to bring good luck during Lunar New Year celebrations.(Photo: AP)

A woman burns incense as she prays on the first day of the Lunar New Year at the Lama Temple in Beijing(Photo: AP)

The Chinese New Year is celebrated across the world among the Chinese community.

Visuals from the Chinese New Year parade in Kolkata.(Photo: PTI)

Members of Chinese community perform the dragon dance during Chinese New Year celebrations in Kolkata.(Photo: PTI)

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