The Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing
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Photos: How the rest of the world is ringing in New Years 2016
By: Staff Metro Published on Thu Dec 31 2015 The new year will arrive across the globe a few hours apart but be celebrated in drastically different ways. In many countries the festivities have already begun with fireworks shows through the city or tribal rituals in the country. Here are a few snapshots of how people are letting out their party animals to usher in 2016. Workers push a 2016 countdown clock into position during a rehearsal for a New Year's Eve countdown celebration at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. At 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, China will ring in 2016 ahead of much of the rest of the world on Thursday night. AP PHOTO/MARK SCHIEFELBEIN Workers push a 2016 countdown clock into position during a rehearsal for a New Year's Eve countdown celebration at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. At 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, China will ring in 2016 ahead of much of the rest of the world on Thursday night. Shamans performs a new year ritual for Juan Carlos Silva, sitting, at the AP PHOTO/MARTIN MEJIA Shamans performs a new year ritual for Juan Carlos Silva, sitting, at the "Mercado de Deseos" in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. Silva paid about 20 US dollars for the ritual at the Market of Wishes that sets up for about a week during the holidays. Silva said he returns to the market every December, asking shamans to bestow luck on him in the areas of health, money and love for the next year. A girl wearing a bear fur poses for a portrait before performing during a festival of New Year ritual dances attended by hundreds in Comanesti, northern Romania, Wednesday, Dec. 30 2015. In pre-Christian rural traditions, dancers wearing colored costumes or animal furs, toured from house to house in villages singing and dancing to ward off evil, in the present the tradition has moved to Romania's cities too, where dancers travel to perform the ritual for money. AP PHOTO/VADIM GHIRDA A girl wearing a bear fur poses for a portrait before performing during a festival of New Year ritual dances attended by hundreds in Comanesti, northern Romania, Wednesday, Dec. 30 2015. In pre-Christian rural traditions, dancers wearing colored costumes or animal furs, toured from house to house in villages singing and dancing to ward off evil, in the present the tradition has moved to Romania's cities too, where dancers travel to perform the ritual for money. A Chechen woman with children look at a New Year decoration outside the main Mosque in Chechen regional capital of Grozny, Russia on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev) MUSA SADULAYEV A Chechen woman with children look at a New Year decoration outside the main Mosque in Chechen regional capital of Grozny, Russia on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. (AP Photo/Musa Sadulayev) A seller dressed as a Snow Maiden, waits for customers to buy tangerines, traditional fruit for the New Year in Russia, at GUM Department Store in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. For most Russians, it’s not New Year’s without a Salad Olivier, a dish meant to augur prosperity. This year, soaring food costs mean the tradition can also be a painful reminder of how rapidly many Russians’ wealth is fading amid recession and Western sanctions. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) PAVEL GOLOVKIN A seller dressed as a Snow Maiden, waits for customers to buy tangerines, traditional fruit for the New Year in Russia, at GUM Department Store in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. For most Russians, it’s not New Year’s without a Salad Olivier, a dish meant to augur prosperity. This year, soaring food costs mean the tradition can also be a painful reminder of how rapidly many Russians’ wealth is fading amid recession and Western sanctions. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) An actor performs in a show for New Year and Christmas celebrations in Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, Georgia, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. Georgians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7 in accordance with the Julian calendar. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov) SHAKH AIVAZOV An actor performs in a show for New Year and Christmas celebrations in Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi, Georgia, Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2015. Georgians celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7 in accordance with the Julian calendar. (AP Photo/Shakh Aivazov) A Nepalese Gurung community woman wearing traditional attire smiles as she participates in a parade to mark the New Year known as NIRANJAN SHRESTHA A Nepalese Gurung community woman wearing traditional attire smiles as she participates in a parade to mark the New Year known as "Tamu Loshar" in Kathmandu, Nepal, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015. The indigenous Gurungs, also known as Tamu, are celebrating the advent of the year of the monkey. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha) Employee Salome Arao poses as she holds 2016 Year of the Monkey commemorative stamps at the Philippine Post Office in Manila, Philippines on Monday, Dec. 28, 2015. Next year is the Year of the Monkey according to the Chinese zodiac. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) AARON FAVILA Employee Salome Arao poses as she holds 2016 Year of the Monkey commemorative stamps at the Philippine Post Office in Manila, Philippines on Monday, Dec. 28, 2015. Next year is the Year of the Monkey according to the Chinese zodiac. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Sarah Ho collaborates with Kimberlite Diamonds on high jewellery series
Award-winning jewellery designer Sarah Ho has designed 12 pieces of high jewellery for Kimberlite Diamonds’ Harmony series. The collection, which was unveiled at this year’s Baselworld, carries Chinese traditions into modern times with a blend of world trends. The designs by Sarah Ho have been inspired by the ‘fortune of blooming flowers’, with the peony as the national flower of China said to bring wealth to all people. The 12-piece suite combines unique lines of the simple ancient art of paper cutting with the Chinese wisdom of ying and yang, light and dark, mirrored in diamonds and highly polished gold. Story continues below Advertisement The Fortune of Blooming Flowers ring. The ‘Exquisite Beauty’ suite uses elements of the peony with the ancient form of paper cutting in a clever composition to create fragrant, graceful flowers. On April 28, the pieces will debut at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing. This will be the first such launch to be held in the Imperial Palace, with a wonderful unparalled legendry diamond show. Sarah Ho has been invited to attend as a special guest. Ho comments: “I am honoured to have been involved with Kimberlite for this amazing project which will be part of a very unique museum Kimberlite are planning in Shanghai. “It has allowed me to create beautiful masterpieces that bring my Chinese heritage and love of modern design together and will be a part of history forever.”
Imperial Ancestral Temple Preps for New Year Countdown
The Imperial Ancestral Temple of Beijing is now ready for the grand New Year countdown event tonight. On Wednesday, the landmark temple, which is just outside the Forbidden City, tested lights for the big celebration. This year mayors from Seoul, Riga, Ottawa, Wellington and Cape Town have all been invited to send their new year wishes to Beijing through a large screen at the site. Unlike previous New Year's Eves however, the Beijing authorities have reportedly cancelled the traditional light shows in both the China Millennium Monument as well as the large shopping mall called "The Place" due to safety concerns. Meanwhile, Shanghai has also cancelled its traditional countdown event at the Bund due to the fatal stampede on the New Year's Eve in 2014.
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1 Ancient floor lamps at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing.
2 A tree at the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing, China, followed overnight snowfall on March 20, 2013.
3 A group of Manchu warriors practice their martial arts routine on the square of the Imperial Ancestral Temple