BEIJING — 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.
Visitors stroll a street decorated with a big dragon shaped lantern for their Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations, marking the Year of the Horse on the Chinese zodiac, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026, at China Town in Yokohama near Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
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.
Visitors pose beside decorative horse sculptures at a temple fair during the first day of Lunar New Year, at Lama Temple in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Robots take the stage of an annual TV show in China
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.
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 midnightin 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.
People pray at Quan Su pagoda on the first day of the Lunar New Year in Hanoi, Vietnam, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
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 at Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)
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
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.
Monks pray on the eve of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
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.
Photos of Lunar New Year celebrations for the Year of the Horse
Lion dancers perform at a market in preparation for the Lunar New Year celebration in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026.( AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
A humanoid robot wearing a traditional headdress is displayed during a media preview of a robotic temple fair ahead of Lunar New Year in Beijing, China, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Performers of Yingge Dance, a traditional folk dance from southern China, gather beside a historic gate before Lunar New Year celebrations in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
An ethnic Chinese Thai lays down candles after praying at the Leng Nuei Yee Chinese temple ahead of Chinese Lunar New Year in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Monks pray on the eve of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Taipei, Taiwan, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
A worshiper wears a horse head decoration at Wong Tai Sin Temple to welcome the Lunar New Year of the Horse in Hong Kong, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Chan Long Hei)
People attend the Lunar New Year festival at Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Pavel Bednyakov)
A Chinese worshipper prays during celebrations of the Lunar New Year of the Horse at the Kwan In Thang Temple on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)
People hold incense sticks as they pray during the celebration of the Lunar New Year of the Horse at Satya Dharma Temple in Denpasar, Indonesia, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
A bird is freed from a cage for good luck during Chinese Lunar New Year in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
People bow in respect for their ancestors in North Korea as they visit the Imjingak Pavilion, near the border with the North Korea, to celebrate the Lunar New Year in Paju, South Korea, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A dancer carries ceremonial banners before a performance of Yingge Dance, a traditional folk dance from southern China during Lunar New Year celebrations in Beijing, China, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
A woman uses her mobile phone to take photos of a performance during the celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Horse in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Local Chinese artists group gather to perform during celebration of the Lunar New Year of the Horse at Thuwunna stadium Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Yangon, Myanmar. (AP Photo/Thein Zaw)
Fire performers carry a dragon during a molten iron fireworks performance known as "fire dragon steel flowers" ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations at an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Visitors walk past an illuminated horse lantern display ahead of Lunar New Year celebrations at an amusement park on the outskirts of Beijing, China, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
People burn joss paper money as offering to ancestors ahead of the Lunar New Year of the Horse in Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, Feb 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
A vendor, right, holds a grilled pig for selling for Lunar New Year celebrations on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, ahead of the Lunar New Year. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
People wearing South Korean traditional "Hanbok" costume take photos on the eve of the Lunar New Year at the Gyeongbok Palace, the main royal palace during the Joseon Dynasty, in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
