奇速英语

中国欢度羊年春节

Fireworks lighted up the skies across China as millions around Asia greeted the Year of the Sheep on Thursday, kicking off celebrations with an annual televised gala that was thought highly on social media for the wonderful performance. The show lasts for about four hours and is broadcast nationwide, featuring singing, dancing, skits and comedy performance.

Lunar New Year is also celebrated in other parts of Asia, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, North and South Korea, Mongolia and among Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.

It is believed by Hong Kong people that the Year of the Sheep, also known as the Year of the Goat, should be calmer in general than the previous Year of the Horse, which was characterized by tragic international air accidents, terror attacks, global political upheaval, an Ebola virus panic and war.

Singapore, a large Chinese city-state, greeted the New Year with a countdown party in the heart of Chinatown on Wednesday, ending up with a fireworks display at midnight. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, 63, was discharged from hospital Wednesday in time for the Lunar New Year celebrations after going through an operation for cancer on Monday.

In Australia, Sydney is celebrating the Year of the Sheep, given the animals were the backbone of the country’s early farming success, with the country once said to be “riding on the sheep’s back” due to moneymaking wool exports. Tourism officials said Chinese arrivals were also set to increase for the festival, with Chinese airlines putting on charter flights for the holiday period. China is Australia’s most valuable and fastest growing inbound tourism market, with 95,000 Chinese arrivals recorded in January 2014 -- the month that the Spring Festival fell that year -- an increase of 67 percent on the previous year.

Qunar, a Chinese online travel service, announced a 350 percent jump in overseas flight bookings for the Lunar New Year holiday period in 2015 compared with last year, with trips to the United States winning the biggest gain.