Last night, Hong Kong rang in "The Year of the Snake" by turning the entire harbor-front area into a giant outdoor party. Thousands of people came out to watch the spectacle, which included local and international performers, dazzling floats and more. Get a glimpse of the Chinese New Year celebration in the video above, which comes courtesy of the Hong Kong Tourism Board.

According to CBC, Hong Kong will welcome an estimated 8.18 million passengers during the holiday period, an 11 percent increase over last year (read more about the annual migration in this piece by Dave Seminera).

"It's one of the biggest festivals for Chinese. We're going to enjoy it with family, we're going to share our happiness with lots of red pockets, a lot of Chinese food like dumplings," Joe Yau told the news outlet while passing through Hong Kong International Airport. Yau is likely referring to red envelopes filled with money that are traditionally given to young people over the course of the holiday.

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year, is just one of the many events worth planning a trip around in 2013. For more can't-miss events, check out this list, which is curated by Gadling writers.

Filed under: Asia, China