A huge peach blossom is displayed as Chinese New Year decorations at an office building in Hong Kong, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019. Chinese will celebrate the lunar new year on Feb. 5 this year which marks the Year of the Pig in the Chinese zodiac. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)
Republished February 01, 2019 - 5:46 AM
Original Publication Date January 31, 2019 - 8:41 PM
BEIJING - China is greeting next week's Lunar New Year with celebrations and a travel rush that will see an estimated 3 billion trips by people around the country.
Thousands of passengers toted bundles of clothes and gifts at Beijing train station Friday, ahead of the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar. It's a time for people to return to their hometowns to reunite with family and friends.
"Wow, there's a lot of people," Li Pingping, a beauty salon worker from Henan province, said as she steeled herself for a 17-hour train ride home.
The year of the pig in the 12-year Chinese astrological cycle starts Tuesday, waving farewell to the year of the dog.
On the festival's eve, people gather for reunion dinners, give red packets of pocket money to youngsters and light firecrackers at midnight.
The capital, Beijing, and other cities are festooned with lanterns and other decorations to mark the holiday, which is also celebrated in Vietnam and by ethnic Chinese communities around Asia.
News from © The Associated Press, 2019