Nationwide celebrations for New Year

During the New Year holidays, revellers across China are having a joyful time amidst the festivities ushering in 2009.

In Beijing, concerts are the order of the day for New Year celebrations. Nearly all local concert halls are staging shows of classical music. Among them, the prestigious National Center for the Performing Arts has staged a concert featuring both time-honored classics and modernist pieces. Promising pianist Li Yundi is among the musicians.

Meanwhile, in Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, a rock concert was held to mark the arrival of the New Year. Titled "Eternal Youth", the show dazzled the local citizens with its passionate music.

In Xuchang city in central China's Henan province, a street dance group of senior citizens has been providing the most popular act during local new year festivities. Some of the dancers have been engaged in the fashionable sport for years.

And in Shanghai, the local sea world is offering some exotic entertainment for New Year revellers. A team of professional clowns are taking the plunge, decked out as fairy-tale figures. The performance immerses the whole venue in a sea of good cheer, making a good start for the new year.