(CGTN) Chinese New Year starts on Tuesday February 1 and will mark the beginning of the Year of the Tiger.
The Chinese zodiac calendar is called Sheng Xiao and is based on a 12-year lunar cycle. Each year is represented by an animal.

The Spring Festival begins at the start of the New Year and the holiday lasts around a week. Many Chinese people travel great distances across the country to see family for the festivities. It’s the largest national celebration in China’s year.

Every animal represented on Sheng Xiao carries certain characteristics, which are said to be found in people born in that year.

The tiger represents strength, bravery and confidence and people born in years of the tiger are said to be independent, self-assured and optimistic.
Previous Years of the Tiger: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010.

Famous “tigers” include: Marilyn Monroe (1926), Queen Elizabeth (1926), Narendra Modi (1950) and Leonardo DiCaprio (1974),