Sawt Falasteen - Prayer and dance: hundreds of millions in Asia celebrate Year of the Snake

In China, people enjoy eight consecutive public holidays for the 2025 Spring Festival, an opportunity to share meals, attend traditional performances and set off fireworks.

Train stations and airports across the country have been jam-packed for weeks as millions returned home to spend the holidays with their loved ones in an annual migration that is expected to be a record.

Temples and parks in the Chinese capital on Wednesday were full with people braving freezing temperatures to bid farewell to the Year of the Dragon with dancing and prayers.

High streets, shopping malls, offices and homes were bedecked in festive red banners -- believed to ward off evil -- throughout many parts of East and Southeast Asia, including South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand.

In Taiwan on Wednesday morning, people of all ages poured into temples to make offerings of fruit, sweets, crackers and nuts.

"Our tradition is to visit the temple and pray, for better fortune for this year," said Chen Ching-yuan, 36, as she visited Longshan Temple in Taipei with her mother.

"There's no need to ask for anything specific, just wish for a smooth, peaceful, safe and healthy year, and pray that everything goes well."

Some temple-goers ushered in the new year by racing to be the first to light incense in the pursuit of good fortune.

"I didn't want to look back with regret when I'm old, so I decided to go for it," Kao Meng-shun said from Fusing Temple in Yunlin County, in the central-west of Taiwan.

In Bangkok, throngs of locals and tourists made their way to Wat Mangkon Kamalawat, the capital's most revered Chinese temple.

Built in 1871 by immigrants from southern China, the temple marks its 154th anniversary this year and remains a key worshipping site for the Thai-Chinese community.

Sasakorn Udomrat, 56, has been coming to the temple for eight consecutive years.

"I have many Thai-Chinese friends who say this temple is very sacred," she said. "I don't ask for anything in particular, just good health."

Another worshipper Nawarat Yaowanin, 42, told AFP: "According to the Chinese calendar, it's a brewing year for me," she said.

"I came here to pay my respects and hope to ward off bad luck."

Crowds also filled the streets in the Philippine and Indonesian capitals for vibrant lion dance parades.

- Snow slows travel -

During the traditional 40-day period that runs before, during and after the Lunar New Year holidays in mainland China, about nine billion interprovincial passenger trips on all forms of transport are expected to be made.

Train and air travel are expected to "hit record highs" during this year's migration, state news agency Xinhua said.

In South Korea, heavy snowfall caused disruption to train, plane and bus schedules nationwide, as people went to visit their families this week.

Passengers were seen at Seoul's main train station carrying gifts and luggage as they prepared to leave.

Images released by local media showed vehicles covered in snow stuck on South Korea's major highways as heavy winds and snowfall persisted.

Traffic authorities warned it could take more than seven hours on Tuesday to drive from Seoul to the port city of Busan, a journey that typically takes around four hours.

Many others opted to spend the break abroad. The operator of Incheon International Airport announced that it expected more than 2.1 million overseas-bound passengers from January 24 to February 2.

"This is projected to be the highest average daily passenger count during the Lunar New Year holiday since the airport opened (in 2001)," the operator said in a statement.

The festivities even extended to space, with Chinese astronauts Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze sending New Year's Eve greetings from the Tiangong space station on Tuesday.

In a video released by the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the trio could be seen dressed in blue jumpsuits with traditional red cloud patterns, holding two pieces of paper-cutting featuring the Chinese character "fu", for good luck.

"In the new year, may all your dreams come true," Wang said, forming a heart shape above her head.

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H.Darwish--SF-PST