The festive spirit of the Chinese New Year has stretched far around the world including to the streets of France and Kenya, where vibrant dragon dances were staged to welcome the arrival of the Year of the Dragon.

Chinese people around the globe are enjoying various activities to celebrate the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, which fell on Feb 10 this year, ushering in the Year of the Dragon.
Dating back many centuries, the dragon dance is a traditional Chinese folk art which has since become popular across the world, as Chinese people immigrating overseas have kept this old custom alive.
In the city of Bordeaux in southwestern France, local residents and tourists came out to marvel at energetic dragon dance and lion dance performances which brought the city's streets to life on Sunday, the second day of the Chinese New Year.
"The Year of the Dragon is a good year, as the dragon represents courage, strength and wisdom. We wish everyone good luck in the Year of the Dragon," said a local dragon dance performer.
"It's my first time to watch the dragon and lion dance in Bordeaux. Everyone is happy and excited here, and I can feel the power of the Chinese dragon," said a resident who brought his young child out to see the show.
Meanwhile, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, colorful celebrations were recently held at the Confucius Institute at the University of Nairobi to celebrate the festive occasion.
The venue featured ornate decorations with splashes of red and gold embellishments and lucky symbols.
Visitors got the opportunity to participate in cultural experiences including painting, paper cutting and pot throwing as well as sampling tasty Chinese cuisines like spicy hotpot, steamed stuffed buns, Chinese hamburgers, dumplings and barbecue.
One of the highlights was an engaging dragon dance performed by local students, which won bursts of applause from attendees. Several of the students have spent considerable time practicing this age-old art form to perfect their moves, and they are hopeful the dragon could bring them more good luck in the year ahead.
"We know that [the dragon] symbol is wishing (for) good luck and maybe chasing away something like demons," said a local student whose Chinese name is Han Shaoyu.
"I've been training for two months now, my teammates have been training for two years. And I understand the symbolism is the Year of the Dragon is the year of mental health and physical well-being," said Bryan, another performer.