Festive haircuts hoped to bring extra trimmings

In Zhaoxian county, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, thousands of people gathered to hold an activity called Longpaihui during which they showed respect for the dragon and prayed for health and good luck.

A worshipping tablet for a dragon was placed in a sedan with yellow curtains and escorted by a dozen young men along main streets in the county, and finally back to the temple of the dragon.

A procession of folk actors followed the sedan and gave more than 30 forms of folk performances, such as drum and yangko.

The ceremony has been listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage.

The most popular tradition of the festival is getting a haircut, as people believe that a new hairdo brings good luck for the new year, showing the expectation of a new start.

As of Monday, searches related to haircuts on the shopping platform Meituan had doubled year-on-year.

Several business owners said that the peak began over the past weekend and is expected to last a week.