19 February 2019 - Lantern festival - Features - Photo story

A blacksmith throwing molten metal against a cold stone wall to create a shower of sparks on the eve of the Lantern Festival which marks the end of Lunar New Year celebrations in Nuanquan in China's Hebei province. Photo courtesy: AFP

People visiting a lantern show on the eve of the Lantern Festival which marks the end of Lunar New Year celebration at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. Photo courtesy: AFP

People looking at pig lanterns on the eve of the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the Lunar New Year at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. Photo courtesy: AFP

A building illuminated with lights at a lantern show on the eve of the Lantern Festival at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. Photo courtesy: AFP

Visitors looking at lanterns of opera masks on the eve of the Lantern Festival at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. Photo courtesy: AFP

People watching a dragon dance to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Zunyi in China's southwestern Guizhou province. Photo courtesy: AFP

Visitors walking past a Beijing Olympics-themed lantern in a park in Yuzhou town in China's northern Hebei province on the eve of the Lantern Festival. Photo courtesy: AFP

People walking past a giant lantern in a park in Yuzhou town in China's northern Hebei province on the eve of the Lantern Festival. Photo courtesy: AFP

Lion dance during a Lantern Festival parade on a street in Yuzhou in China's northern Hebei province. Photo courtesy: AFP

Dragon dance during a Lantern Festival parade on a street in Yuzhou in China's northern Hebei province. Photo courtesy: AFP