China welcomes 'Year of the Dog'

Amid large traditional drums beating and colourful festive flags flying, Chinese people on Friday welcomed the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration.

More than 1.4 billion Chinese people will be celebrating the arrival of their New Year according to the traditional lunar calendar.

Chinese Lunar New Year is being celebrated on a grand scale around the world and the date of the celebration varies every year.

According to the Chinese twelve-animal zodiac system, 2018 is the Year of the Dog

As 2018 ends with an eight, it's been considered an especially lucky year by the Chinese people.

On this day, the Chinese people wear red jackets and jumpers and buy red lanterns and paper-cuttings to decorate their homes and prepare red steamed buns for family gatherings.

Children are given red envelopes containing cash to wish them a happy New Year.

The festivities mostly last for 16 days in China, from the Lunar New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival.