Countries worldwide staged vibrant celebrations to mark the Chinese New Year, with performances, temple fairs, and cultural showcases bringing communities together across continents.
Falling on Feb 17 this year, the Spring Festival is China's most important holiday, celebrated with family reunions, festive delicacies, and wishes for good fortune to usher in the Year of the Horse.
On Saturday, the Moscow Zoo held a Spring Festival celebration, with staff preparing holiday gifts for the giant pandas Ding Ding and Ru Yi, as well as their daughter Katyusha, who are being kept in Russia. Visitors also had the chance to experience Chinese traditions through activities such as tea-making performances.
"Spring comes along with the Year of the Horse. Today, we join our Chinese friends to celebrate this wonderful festival," said Svetlana Akulova, general director of the Moscow Zoo.
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, a special dragon boat race to celebrate the Spring Festival was held recently. Accompanied by energetic drumming, more than 300 competitors from across Argentina gathered to race, bringing the festive spirit and vitality of the holiday to spectators.
"The celebration is vital to connecting the people of the two countries. While East and West are geographically thousands of miles apart, they are closely linked through friendship and cultural bonds. This is precisely the significance of this event," said a referee from the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF).
Meanwhile, the 2026 Frankfurt Spring Festival temple fair took place in Germany. Set to joyful holiday music, the national-level intangible cultural heritage performance “Dingbu Dragon” dance made a stunning appearance, delivering an authentic taste of the Chinese New Year to Frankfurt and drawing rounds of applause from the audience.
"Really happy to be here and I'm impressed by this festival and especially culture is really the power to bring people together. And it's very nice that we can celebrate this together here," said Christoph Degen, Secretary of the State of Hessen.
In Australia, the Chinese Consulate General in Melbourne also hosted a Spring Festival reception to celebrate the Year of the Horse. Around 500 guests enjoyed a lineup of performances featuring Chinese ethnic dance, martial arts, and lion dancing.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said the celebration at the Consulate-General was a wonderful moment for the local Chinese community and friends from all backgrounds to welcome the arrival of the Spring Festival and the Chinese New Year together.
"We're here at the Chinese Consulate in Melbourne celebrating the beginning of Spring Festival, Chinese New Year, and it's a great opportunity for the Chinese community of Melbourne and all their friends to come together to celebrate this wonderful time of the year," said Melbourne Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece.
To celebrate the Year of the Horse, a series of tourism promotion events themed "galloping horses" was held at Auckland's landmark Sky Tower in New Zealand. A highlight of the program was an artistic light show featuring 16 artworks inspired by the zodiac sign "horse."
Chinese New Year sparks worldwide festivities
