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With the easing of most COVID-19 restrictions, many individuals might lastly make their first journey again to their hometowns to reunite with their households with out worrying concerning the hassles of quarantine, potential lockdowns and suspension of journey. Bigger public celebrations additionally returned for what is called the Spring Competition in China, with the capital internet hosting 1000’s of cultural occasions — on a bigger scale than a 12 months in the past.
The mass motion of individuals might trigger the virus to unfold in sure areas, mentioned Wu Zunyou, the chief epidemiologist at China’s Heart for Illness Management. However a large-scale COVID-19 surge shall be unlikely within the subsequent two or three months as a result of about 80% of the nation’s 1.4 billion folks have been contaminated throughout the latest wave, he wrote on the social media platform Weibo on Saturday.
In Beijing, many worshippers provided morning prayers on the Lama Temple however the crowds gave the impression to be smaller in comparison with pre-pandemic days. The Tibetan Buddhist website permits as much as 60,000 guests a day, citing security causes, and requires an advance reservation.
At Taoranting Park, there was no signal of the standard bustling New Yr meals stalls regardless of its walkways being adorned with conventional Chinese language lanterns. A well-liked temple truthful at Badachu Park that was suspended for 3 years shall be again this week, however related occasions at Ditan Park and Longtan Lake Park have but to return.
In Hong Kong, revelers flocked to town’s largest Taoist temple, Wong Tai Sin Temple, to burn the primary incense sticks of the 12 months. The positioning’s in style ritual was suspended the final two years because of the pandemic.
Historically, large crowds collect earlier than 11 p.m. on Lunar New Yr’s Eve, with everybody attempting to be the primary, or among the many first, to place their incense sticks into the stands in entrance of the temple’s important corridor. Worshippers consider those that are among the many first to put their incense sticks will stand the very best probability of getting their prayers answered.
Native resident Freddie Ho, who visited the temple on Saturday evening, was comfortable that he might be part of the occasion in particular person.
“I hope to put the primary incense stick and pray that the New Yr brings world peace, that Hong Kong’s financial system will prosper, and that the pandemic will go away from us and we will all reside a traditional life,” Ho mentioned. “I consider that is what everybody needs.”
In the meantime, the crowds praying for success on the historic Longshan Temple in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, had been smaller than a 12 months in the past even because the pandemic eased. That’s partly as a result of many individuals there had ventured to different components of Taiwan or abroad on long-awaited journeys.
As communities throughout Asia welcomed the Yr of the Rabbit, the Vietnamese had been celebrating the Yr of the Cat as an alternative. There’s no official reply to elucidate the distinction. However one idea suggests cats are in style as a result of they typically assist Vietnamese rice farmers to ward off rats.
Related Press researcher Henry Hou and video journalist Emily Wang in Beijing and video journalists Alice Fung in Hong Kong and Taijing Wu in Taipei, Taiwan contributed to this report.
Discover extra of AP’s Asia-Pacific protection at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
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