People are flocking to temples to pray for good health and fortune on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday in China.

A Chinese dancer dressed in traditional costume perform a cultural dance on stage during a temple fair for a Lunar New Year celebration in Beijing, Monday, Feb. 8, 2016.

A Chinese dancer dressed in traditional costume perform a cultural dance on stage during a temple fair for a Lunar New Year celebration in Beijing, Monday, Feb. 8, 2016. Image by AP Photo/Andy Wong

In Beijing, revellers are visiting traditional fairs held in parks, as well as Buddhist and Taoist temples offering song and dance performances as well as open-air markets selling handicrafts. Monday marks the first day of the Year of the Monkey – the ninth animal on the Chinese zodiac calendar. The week-long holiday, known as the Spring Festival in China, is focused on family reunion, and is a time when students and migrant workers return to their home towns. It is the country’s most important holiday, equivalent to Christmas for many in the West.

(Press Association)