On Feb. 17, the second day of Chinese New Year, Falun Gong practitioners organized a parade in downtown San Francisco and Chinatown.
The parade began at noon at the City Hall plaza, featuring waist-drum performers and dancers dressed in colorful, traditional Chinese costumes.
A waist-drummer in traditional Chinese garb marches in the parade.
Children dressed in traditional Chinese costumes walk in the Falun Gong Parade.
Dancers in colorful, traditional Chinese dress perform in the parade.
The parade was organized to inform the public about the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong in China.
Demonstrators protest the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China by the Chinese government.
Falun Gong practitioners hold signs that express opposition to the Chinese Communist Party.
People fill the streets of Chinatown in San Francisco to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
Festivalgoers are invited to try playing Chinese instruments.
Sugar candies are sold as a popular treat to festivalgoers.
A man plays a Chinese drum in celebration of the new year.
People light firecrackers in the streets of Chinatown to celebrate the Jade Emperor’s birthday and the new year.
People share traditional Chinese foods with the festivalgoers to celebrate the new year.
People walked the streets of Chinatown visiting the various food and gift stands.
A Chinese parade dragon towers over the crowds in Chinatown.
The Zodiac Wall in Chinatown is covered with 1,152 red new year’s envelopes for the Year of the Dog.
The festivalgoers brave cold temperatures to watch the celebrations during the night.
People light sparklers to celebrate the new year.
Some festivalgoers dress in traditional Chinese clothes to honor the new year.
Children from schools in the area participate in the parade and perform dances.
After the celebrations end, the streets of Chinatown are littered with the remains of firecrackers and confetti.
From the Falun Gong Parade on Feb. 17 to the celebration of the Jade Emperor’s birthday Feb. 24, people crowded in the streets of San Francisco to celebrate Chinese New Year 2018. In the midst of celebration, a march was organized during the Falun Gong Parade to raise awareness about the continued persecution of Falun Gong practitioners in China and demonstrate against the Chinese government.
