Hong Kong - Hong Kong endured its coldest Chinese New Year in 12 years, weather experts said Friday. Temperatures fell to as low as 7 degrees in some parts of the New Territories and 9 degrees in urban areas Thursday, the first day of the Year of the Rat.
The former British colony is currently in the grip of a cold spell with temperature hovering around 10 degrees for the past two weeks.
On Friday, the Hong Kong Observatory warned that the cold weather looked set to continue.
The chill sent some Hong Kong residents fleeing for warmer climes for the holiday with a record number of 900 flights taking off from Chek Lap Kok airport Thursday.
However, others in the city of 6.9 million chose to brave out the cold and enjoy traditional Lunar New Year festivities at home.
Up to 100,000 turned out to watch the 13th annual New Year Parade Thursday while on Friday, crowd controls had to be put in place when thousands flocked to the Che Keng Temple in the New Territories.
The temple is one of the most famous in Hong Kong and is traditionally visited by thousands of people, including leading government officials, on the second and third day of the Lunar New Year.
On Friday night, thousands were expected to watch a 7-million-Hong-Kong-dollar (900,000-US-dollar) fireworks display over Victoria Harbour.
During the 23-minute display, 40,000 fireworks are to light up the sky and at one point illuminate the Chinese symbols for Beijing and 2008 to mark this summer's Olympic Games in the Chinese capital.
