PICTURES: China welcomes 'Year of the Pig'; celebrates lunar new year with gusto

Beijing and all major cities wore a festive look but with fewer people on streets as most of the Chinese people travelled to their villages to spend time with their families or to various travel destinations for holidays. In the image, Performers rehearse a re-enactment of an ancient Qing Dynasty ceremony at Ditan Park (the Temple of Earth) in Beijing, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Several cities welcomed the new year with fireworks to repel bad spirits. However in metropolitans including Beijing, fireworks have been banned due to pollution and security threats. Here, Fireworks explode during the 2019 China Central Television (CCTV) Spring Festival Gala on Chinese New Year's Eve on February 4, 2019 in Jinggangshan, Jiangxi Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

This year's Spring Festival is taking place on a sedate note amid concerns over the slowdown of the Chinese economy and impact of the trade war between China and the US.JINGGANGSHAN, CHINA - FEBRUARY 04: Fireworks explode during the 2019 China Central Television (CCTV) Spring Festival Gala on Chinese New Year's Eve on February 4, 2019 in Jinggangshan, Jiangxi Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

There is a mad scramble for air, rail and bus tickets. On the eve of the festival, top Chinese leaders make customary visits to the selected communities to spend the festival with common people. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

In the Chinese Lunar calendar, years are grouped into a 12-year cycle, with each year assigned to an animal with symbols including rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

Since Monday, China came to a grinding halt as the government declared a week-long holiday to celebrate the festival. Every year, the new year holiday marks the biggest human migration within and outside the country with millions of Chinese heading either to their villages or to holiday destinations. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

On Monday, the Chinese bade farewell to the Year of Dog and welcomed the Year of Pig. Pigs symbolise good fortune and wealth in Chinese culture (Photo by Mai Shangmin/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

China welcomed the Year of the Pig on Tuesday, ushering in the Lunar New Year with prayers and family feasts as millions travelled to their villages and holiday destinations in the world's largest annual migration to rejoice the country's grandest festival. In the picture, people burn incense sticks as they pray for good luck at the Wong Tai Sin Temple on February 4 in Hong Kong, China. The Lunar New Year, the Year of the Pig, falls on February 5 this year. (Photo by Zhang Wei/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)