Today is the Chinese traditional Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar. During the Lantern Festival, people often go out at night carrying paper lanterns, often in the shape of animals, and solve riddles. It officially ends the Spring Festival celebrations.

    A performer acting as a Qing Dynasty emperor (C) parades on Qianmen Avenue in Beijing on Tuesday. A carnival began on the avenue Tuesday, including a lantern show, dragon dances and Beijing opera performances, to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

    Spectators watch a horsefight in Rongrui in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday. A horsefight is often held in Rongshui to celebrate the Lantern Festival.

    A pupil hangs a lantern made herself with waste materials at the gate of Qiushi Primary School in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, on Tuesday.

    Wang Aifeng (2nd from L), a villager from Mishan Township, Wendeng City, Shandong Province, teaches other villagers to make miandeng, a corn flour snack often in the shape of animals. Villagers like to light them with bean oil at the night of the Lantern Festival to pray for safety and harvest.

    Colorful lanterns at the Confucius Temple scenic area in Nanjing, capital of East China’s Jiangsu Province.

    Students read traditional Chinese literature classics at Kongmiao Temple, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, on Tuesday to greet the Lantern Festival.

    People attend a dragon dance competition in Wuhan, Hubei Province, on Tuesday.