<p>Beijing began the Year of the Dog on Friday with eerily silent streets, as the usual thunderous bursts of firecrackers and fireworks were silenced by a strict ban that sacrifices tradition in the name of an anti-pollution campaign.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Overnight, police patrolled deserted neighbourhoods in the Chinese capital - normally abuzz with excitement as the country welcomes the arrival of the Lunar New Year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I never imagined it would be this quiet. Its usually packed," said a Beijing resident surnamed Wang who had been out in the city centre following a traditional New Years Eve family dinner.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A migrant worker from neighbouring Hebei province surnamed Zhu said that without the firecrackers, "the magic of the New Year is gone".</p>.<p class="bodytext">The low-key celebrations were in stark contrast to previous years, when the streets were crammed with Beijingers setting off firecrackers and the sky was lit by near-constant firework displays, unleashing a deafening thunder until dawn.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But the tradition, conceived as a way to ward off evil spirits, has this year been targeted by authorities anxious to lower winter pollution levels.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some 440 Chinese cities have banned the use of firecrackers and fireworks - which are also set off during weddings or when moving house - since last year. Beijing introduced a ban in December.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Like all Beijingers, I have been lighting firecrackers since I was a child. But times have changed (...) air quality is what matters most to people now," said a man who gave his surname as Zhang.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government has launched a huge campaign to reduce pollution during the winter, ordering polluting factories to leave Beijing and its surroundings, and designating "no-coal zones" where more than three million homes have abruptly switched to gas or electric heating.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In 2017, the level of PM2.5 particles, which penetrate deep into the lungs, in Beijing over the New Year was 26 times higher than the level recommended by the World Health Organisation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But on Friday the sky was a brilliant blue.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It (the ban) is a good thing, given the disastrous state of the environment," said Xi, a young student, before adding.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Safety is another reason behind the ban. Every year there are numerous accidents caused by pyrotechnics, many of which are of poor quality in China.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The ban has made some happy, including Zhu Ye, an elderly Beijinger who took advantage of the peace and quiet to take her dog Xiao Mi for a nighttime walk.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I no longer liked it at my age... with the fireworks and firecrackers everywhere, we didnt dare to go out," she said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"But this year, there are not many people in the streets and I am finally able to walk my dog."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Ahead of New Year celebrations, hundreds of millions of Chinese travel back to their home towns, often on crowded trains, making it in the world's largest annual human migration.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Meanwhile in Hong Kong a spectacular fireworks display scheduled to mark Lunar New Year was cancelled as the city mourns victims of a deadly bus crash.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A speeding double-decker overturned in northern Hong Kong on Saturday evening, killing 19 and leaving more than 60 injured, some critically.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In Shanghai thousands flocked to temples to pray for good fortune.</p>.<p class="bodytext">While in Nepal, exiled Tibetans living in Kathmandu carried images of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as the community - estimated to number in their thousands - gathered to celebrate Lhosar, the Tibetan Lunar New Year, with traditional music and food.</p>
<p>Beijing began the Year of the Dog on Friday with eerily silent streets, as the usual thunderous bursts of firecrackers and fireworks were silenced by a strict ban that sacrifices tradition in the name of an anti-pollution campaign.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Overnight, police patrolled deserted neighbourhoods in the Chinese capital - normally abuzz with excitement as the country welcomes the arrival of the Lunar New Year.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I never imagined it would be this quiet. Its usually packed," said a Beijing resident surnamed Wang who had been out in the city centre following a traditional New Years Eve family dinner.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A migrant worker from neighbouring Hebei province surnamed Zhu said that without the firecrackers, "the magic of the New Year is gone".</p>.<p class="bodytext">The low-key celebrations were in stark contrast to previous years, when the streets were crammed with Beijingers setting off firecrackers and the sky was lit by near-constant firework displays, unleashing a deafening thunder until dawn.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But the tradition, conceived as a way to ward off evil spirits, has this year been targeted by authorities anxious to lower winter pollution levels.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some 440 Chinese cities have banned the use of firecrackers and fireworks - which are also set off during weddings or when moving house - since last year. Beijing introduced a ban in December.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Like all Beijingers, I have been lighting firecrackers since I was a child. But times have changed (...) air quality is what matters most to people now," said a man who gave his surname as Zhang.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The government has launched a huge campaign to reduce pollution during the winter, ordering polluting factories to leave Beijing and its surroundings, and designating "no-coal zones" where more than three million homes have abruptly switched to gas or electric heating.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In 2017, the level of PM2.5 particles, which penetrate deep into the lungs, in Beijing over the New Year was 26 times higher than the level recommended by the World Health Organisation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But on Friday the sky was a brilliant blue.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It (the ban) is a good thing, given the disastrous state of the environment," said Xi, a young student, before adding.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Safety is another reason behind the ban. Every year there are numerous accidents caused by pyrotechnics, many of which are of poor quality in China.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The ban has made some happy, including Zhu Ye, an elderly Beijinger who took advantage of the peace and quiet to take her dog Xiao Mi for a nighttime walk.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I no longer liked it at my age... with the fireworks and firecrackers everywhere, we didnt dare to go out," she said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"But this year, there are not many people in the streets and I am finally able to walk my dog."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Ahead of New Year celebrations, hundreds of millions of Chinese travel back to their home towns, often on crowded trains, making it in the world's largest annual human migration.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Meanwhile in Hong Kong a spectacular fireworks display scheduled to mark Lunar New Year was cancelled as the city mourns victims of a deadly bus crash.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A speeding double-decker overturned in northern Hong Kong on Saturday evening, killing 19 and leaving more than 60 injured, some critically.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In Shanghai thousands flocked to temples to pray for good fortune.</p>.<p class="bodytext">While in Nepal, exiled Tibetans living in Kathmandu carried images of their spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, as the community - estimated to number in their thousands - gathered to celebrate Lhosar, the Tibetan Lunar New Year, with traditional music and food.</p>