 | A vendor sells glazed fruits, a local delicacy in northern China, at a temple fair in Beijing January 26, 2004. click to open  |
 | A vendor pours hot water from a dragon-shaped jug into a bowl to mix a sweet treat at a temple fair in Beijing January 26, 2004. The annual tradition of temple fairs during Chinese New Year were banned in China during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) because they were considered to be based on superstitious and feudal beliefs, but resurfaced in the early 1980's as part of China's opening to the market economy. click to open |
 | A vendor pours steaming hot water from a dragon-shaped jug into a bowl to mix a sweet treat at the White Cloud Temple in Beijing on Chinese New Year's Day Thursday Jan. 22, 2004. Thousands crowded into the temple, Beijing's largest Taoist temple, to mark the beginning of the Year of the Monkey. click to open |
 | A Chinese boy wears a monkey mask at a temple fair in Beijing on the third day of Chinese New Year Saturday, Jan. 24, 2004. Thousands have flocked to fairs across the city to celebrate a week-long holiday which marks the beginning of the Year of the Monkey. click to open |
 | A Chinese martial arts expert swallows a sword during a performance at a temple fair in Beijing January 25, 2004. Hundreds of thousands of residents in China's capital continue to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Monkey by visiting temple fairs during a week-long holiday. click to open |
 | A Chinese woman, performing at a temple fair in Beijing, puts a snake down her throat and removes it on the third day of Chinese New Year Saturday, Jan. 24, 2004. Thousands have flocked to fairs across the city to celebrate a weeklong holiday which marks the beginning of the Year of the Monkey. click to open |
 | Chinese worshippers offer incense and pray at the Baiyun Temple in Beijing on Chinese Lunar New Year's Day, January 22, 2004. Tens of thousands of worshippers visited the ancient Taoist temple in China's capital to ring in the New Year of the Monkey and to pray for happiness and prosperity. click to open |
 | Chinese worshippers offer incense and pray at the Baiyun Temple in Beijing on Chinese Lunar New Year's Day, January 22, 2004. Tens of thousands of worshippers visited the ancient Taoist temple in China's capital to ring in the New Year of the Monkey and to pray for happiness and prosperity. click to open |
 | Chinese worshippers offer incense and pray at the Baiyun Temple in Beijing on Chinese Lunar New Year's Day, January 22, 2004. Tens of thousands of worshippers visited the ancient Taoist temple in China's capital to ring in the New Year of the Monkey and to pray for happiness and prosperity. click to open |
 | People burn incense and pray at the Baiyunguan (White Cloud) taoist temple in Beijing, on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Chinese ushered in the Year of the Monkey -- year 4071 in the Chinese lunar calender. click to open |
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