BEIJING (AP) — Traditional prayers, fireworks and fairs marked the Lunar New Year on Tuesday — alongside 21st-century humanoid robots.
The activities ushered in the Year of the Horse, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, succeeding the Year of the Snake.
Thousands of people in Beijing jammed into the former Temple of Earth to buy snacks, toys and trinkets from stalls. Sun Jing, who brought her parents to the capital for the holiday, said the atmosphere was as lively as in her childhood.
“I haven’t felt such a strong sense of Lunar New Year festivity in a very, very long time,” she said.
Crowds descended on popular temples to burn incense and pray for happiness and success in the coming year. The Lunar New Year is the most important annual holiday in China and some other East Asian nations and is celebrated outside the region, too.
Robots take the stage of an annual TV show in China
A humanoid robot performs a dance with robot dogs dressed in lion costumes on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Horse, at the Niangniang Temple in Beijing on Feb. 17, 2026. Photo by Maxim Shemetov/ Reuters
As every year, China celebrated the Lunar New Year with a TV show and once again the humanoid robots were a central part of the performance Monday night.
One of the highlights of the CCTV Spring Festival gala was a martial arts performance by children and robots. For several minutes, humanoids from Unitree Robotics showed different sequences and even brandished swords.
Visitors touch a head of a traditional lion costume during celebrations on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Horse at the Dongyue Temple in Beijing on Feb. 17, 2026. Photo by Maxim Shemetov/ Reuters
The performance showed China’s push to develop more advanced robots powered by improved AI capabilities.
Viewers applauded the robots, with one saying they give good guidance and direction for young people. One man, though, said that while China’s advances in robotics are great, they detracted from his experience.
“It lacks a bit of the New Year atmosphere,” Li Bo said. “It’s not as enjoyable as when I was little watching the gala.”
Temple crowds at midnight in Hong Kong
Incense smoke wafted into the air at a temple in Hong Kong where people line up every year to make wishes for the new year at midnight.
Holding up a cluster of incense sticks, many bowed their heads several times before planting the sticks in containers placed in front of a temple hall.
Fireworks light up skies in Vietnam
Entertainers in Vietnam sang at an outdoor countdown event before multiple fireworks shows at several cities in the Southeast Asian nation, where the festival is called Tet.
Light shows lit up bridges and skyscrapers as the fireworks went off and crowds clapped in rhythm to live pop music performances.
Chinese street fairs in Moscow
People attend the Lunar New Year festival showcasing traditional Chinese culture, arts and performances in central Moscow on Feb. 16, 2026. Photo by Ramil Sitdikov/ Reuters
People sampled Chinese cuisine from stalls and strolled along snowy streets decorated with red lanterns and dragons as two weeks of events got underway Monday at various venues in the Russian capital.
The third annual Lunar New Year celebration comes at time of warming relations between China and Russia — ties that have frustrated many European governments because of the war in Ukraine.
A temple bell rings 108 times in Taiwan
A woman sticks a poster with Spring Festival couplets to a door on the eve of the Lunar New Year, welcoming the Year of the Horse, at Donggang in Pingtung county, Taiwan, on Feb. 16, 2026. Photo by Tsai Hsin-Han/ Reuters
The solemn peal of a temple bell rang out 108 times — an auspicious number — as people flocked to the Baoan Temple in Taipei on Tuesday morning.
They lit incense sticks, bowed their heads and left offerings of colorful flower bouquets on outdoor tables on the temple grounds in Taiwan’s capital city.
Argentines join celebrations in Buenos Aires
Thousands of Argentines gathered in Buenos Aires’ Chinatown to celebrate the Lunar New Year and enjoyed dragon and lion dances on the main stage, alongside martial arts demonstrations.
The Chinese immigrant community is among Argentina’s most dynamic, accounting for more than 180,000 people in the South American country.
See more photos of Lunar New Year celebrations around the world below.
A performer blows fire during Lunar New Year celebrations at Chinatown in Binondo, Manila, on Feb. 17, 2026. Photo by Lisa Marie David
Worshippers pray during the Chinese Lunar New Year’s Eve, Year of the Horse at Boen San Bio temple in Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta on Feb. 16, 2026. Photo by Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana/ Reuters
A dragon dance troupe performs an LED dragon dance on the eve of the Lunar New Year at Jewel Changi Airport in Singapore on Feb. 16, 2026. Photo by Edgar Su / Reuters
A man stands on a structure as he performs the lion dance to mark Lunar New Year celebrations in Kolkata, India, on Feb. 17, 2026. Photo by Sahiba Chawdhary/ Reuters
Performers take part in a lion dance during celebrations on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Horse at the Dongyue Temple in Beijing on Feb. 17, 2026. Photo by Maxim Shemetov/ Reuters
Residents set off fireworks on the first day of the Lunar New Year Festival in San Francisco’s Chinatown district on Feb. 16, 2026. Photo by Stephen Nellis/ Reuters
A vendor looks on through figures of a horse and an ox at a holiday street market on the first day of the Lunar New Year of the Horse at the Niangniang Temple in Beijing on Feb. 17, 2026. Photo by Maxim Shemetov/ Reuters
Associated Press journalists around the world contributed to this report.
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