A large crowd took to the streets of London on Sunday morning for the colourful parade that ushers in the Chinese new year.

The celebration began in Chinatown and moved across the capital to Trafalgar Square with parade floats, martial artists and costumed performers. The ever-popular dragon and lion dancers moved their way along the parade route with their long and colourful puppets held on poles.

The year of the rat began on January 25, with the date changing each year depending on the lunar calendar.

Chinese New Year
Performers take part in a parade involving costumes, lion dances and floats, during Chinese new year celebrations (Yui Mok/PA)
Chinese New Year
Spectators in London watch the parade in face masks in response to the coronavirus outbreak in China (Yui Mok/PA)
Chinese New Year
A performer wears a face mask during the celebrations in central London (Yui Mok/PA)
Chinese New Year
A lucky dragon stops traffic in the city centre (Yui Mok/PA)
Chinese New Year
There were even tiny dragons for some of the spectators (Yui Mok/PA)
Chinese New Year
2020 is the year of the rat (Yui Mok/PA)
Chinese New Year
So far no cases of the virus have been confirmed in the UK (Yui Mok/PA)
Chinese New Year
Even photographers were taking no risks (Yui Mok/PA)
Chinese New Year
The full new year celebration spans seven days (Yui Mok/PA)