Across China, people are celebrating the Year of the Tiger in various ways. With bell tones, songs, dances, and smiles, people from all ethnic groups express their anticipation for a new beginning.

Listening to bell tones is a Chinese tradition to ring out the old year and ring in the new year. On lunar New Year's eve, people gathered at some well-known mountains to sound bells and express hope for the year ahead.

Ushering in the year with drums and gongs is another old tradition. In Wuhan city, capital of central China's Hubei province, members of a community drum team beat their expectations for a prosperous life.

People watch lion dance performance on a street in Guilin, southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Feb. 14, 2010. Folk performance celebrating the Spring Festival attracted many local residents on Sunday. [Li Caijia/Xinhua]

In north China's Inner Mongolia, hunters from the Oroqen ethnic group lit campfires, and danced.

In Beijing's neighbor province of Hebei, a "fire dragon" toured around a small city to express happiness.

In Heilongjiang province, ice lanterns lit up the night in Harbin... capital of the province.

Elsewhere, fireworks and firecrackers linger in people's ears, and lanterns light up their smiles for New Year celebrations.