Happy Chinese New Year in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, England, Canada and the USA

My pictures of previous years' Chinese New Year decorations in hotels and shopping malls in Singapore.

Red decorations and Chinese characters.

Chinese lanterns in orange.

The lion dance. Very noisy.

Fireworks in Beijing video is on the BBC site and there must be many more on Youtube from Chinese areas: China, Singapore, Taiwan, Chinese areas in Malaysia, Chinatowns in New York and San Francisco in the USA, Vancouver in Canada, London and Manchester in England - and on Chinese language sites.

First thing to do is send cards, cards, emails to friends overseas. In Singapore we would be given free red packets by banks and even McDonalds, containing advertising or discount vouchers in the red packets in which you traditionally give money, especially from married elders to the young and single. This is a Chinese tradition and eight is lucky so multiples of eight are auspicious.

You are likely to hear the sounds of the lion dancers carried on trucks (lorries as we would say in the UK) to destinations where they will perform. Troupes will dance outside restaurants newly opened, shopping malls, hotels and public places.

Gong Xi Fa Cai  (Happy New Year)

Angela Lansbury B A Hons is a travel writer, photojournalist, author and speaker.