Lunar New Year at Hong Kong temple

Clouds of incense filled the air in the hour before midnight on Lunar New Year’s eve at Hong Kong’s Wong Tai Sin temple.  The temple has long been a magnet for locals wanting to make the most of their luck in the year to come.

Traditionally, big crowds build up before 11pm on Lunar New Year’s Eve, with everyone trying to be the first to put their incense sticks into the stands in front of the temple’s main hall. The belief is that the first or earliest to get the incense sticks and prayers in stand the best chance of having their prayers answered.