In photos: Los Angeles celebrates Lunar New Year

A figure dress like a monk dances while a dragon dance is performed around them.

By
 in
A figure dress like a monk dances while a dragon dance is performed around them.
At the Thien Hau Temple in Chinatown, dragon dancers performed to a soundtrack of live drums as a crowd of hundreds packed the temple. The performance lasted for hours, culminating in fireworks. (Tomoki Chien | Daily Trojan)
Martial Arts students break a block of wood with a kick as part of a performance.
Martial arts students performed for a crowd of onlookers as the sun set over the Port of Los Angeles. One student broke a block of wood.  (Anthony Clingerman | Daily Trojan)
A child rides the shoulders of a figure in the midst of a crowd that is watching a dragon dance.
Dozens of babies were in the crowd of hundreds at the Thien Hau Temple, most hitching rides on their parents’ shoulders. (Tomoki Chien | Daily Trojan)
Wishes are written on red envelopes that hang from a tree.
Festival-goers wrote wishes for the new year on cards they hung on an arch of branches at Monterey Park. One read “to be happy and healthy,” while another read “death to landlords.” (Tomoki Chien | Daily Trojan)
A group of men are grilling skewers of meat.
At the Monterey Park festival, a street vendor grilled skewered meat in front of a large crowd of onlookers waiting for their orders. (Tomoki Chien | Daily Trojan)
A female dancer performs while wearing traditional Korean hanbok.
Dancers performed a traditional routine at the 9th Annual Port of Los Angeles Lunar New Year Festival. (Anthony Clingerman | Daily Trojan)
A masked woman reaches down to place a stick of incense onto an altar.
A woman burned incense at the Thien Hau Temple before praying to the temple’s idols. The air was thick with smoke. (Tomoki Chien | Daily Trojan)
A man in royal garb hands out red envelopes to a crowd.
A man passed out red envelopes to the crowd at the Thien Hau Temple, occasionally pausing to crack jokes. Another man to his right refilled the bowl with envelopes out of a box as the bowl emptied. (Tomoki Chien | Daily Trojan)
A seated audience watches a taiko drum performance.
Spectators watched a taiko drum performance at the Port of Los Angeles Saturday. (Anthony Clingerman | Daily Trojan)