On Lunar New Year, Chinese offer prayers at temples

By SAM McNEIL
Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — China is ringing in the Lunar New Year despite pandemic restrictions, as people gathered at temples to offer traditional prayers for the Year of the Tiger. At the Lama Temple in Beijing, dozens of people gathered on Tuesday to bow in prayer outside the Tibetan Buddhist site that was shut because of the pandemic. This year’s holiday has seen fewer people return to their hometowns for traditional family gatherings. China’s strict pandemic policies can lead to the swift lockdown of towns and cities, as well as suspension of travel wherever clusters of coronavirus cases are identified. In Hong Kong, some smaller temples were kept open and allowed smaller crowds to offer traditional prayers for the Lunar New Year.