Home | WebMail |

      Calgary | Regions | Local Traffic Report | Advertise on Action News | Contact

WorldPhotos

Year of the Monkey figures come in many shapes and sizes

Monkeys appear on stamps, in markets and as art as Lunar New Year draws near.

Primates are taking centre stage as Lunar New Year draws near

An actor adjusts his mask before a show at Seacon Square in Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb. 3, 2016. (Sakchai Lalit/AP)

The Monkeyis the ninth symbolin the 12-yearcycle of the Chinese zodiac, and is becoming a near-ubiquitous presence as peopleprepare for theYear of the Monkey, whichbeginson LunarNew Year,Feb. 8, 2016.

Some Monkeys have different emotions (and loincloths).

These toy monkeys were availableat a Lunar New Year Fair at Victoria Park, Hong Kong.

People sell monkey themed toys at a Lunar New Year Fair at Victoria Park, Hong Kong. (Alex Hofford/EPA)

You can hang Monkeysas decorations...

These decorations at amarket inBinzhou, eastern China, will be usedfor the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

A man poses with decorations at a market in Binzhou, in eastern China's Shandong province. (AFP/Getty Images)

... Or send themby mail.

These postage stamps will be used through the year in the Philippines.

A postal worker holds new postage stamps for 2016 inside a post office in Manila, Philippines. (Romeo Ranoco/Reuters)

SomeMonkeys are madefrom pine cones ...

This Year of the Monkeydisplay was made up from around 15,000 pine cones and plants collected at the Hitachi Seaside Park in Hitachinaka, Japan.

Monkey art is displayed at the Hitachi Seaside Park Hitachinaka, Japan. (Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty Images)

... And some are made out ofdough.

Thisfolk artist makes a monkey head dough figurineat a tourist area inWeifang, China.

A folk artist in Weifang, Shandong province, China. (China Daily/Reuters)

.... and some Monkeys are tiny and made oflead.

Taiwanese artist Chien-chu Lee, carvesa Monkey Kingfrom the tip of a pencil lead to mark the Lunar New Year celebrations, in Yunlin County, Taiwan. Lee is an engineer who spends his spare time carving pencil leads as a hobby.

Taiwanese artist Chien-chu Lee carves a Monkey King from the tip of a pencil lead. (Ritchie B. Tongo/EPA)
A close up view of artist Chien-chu Lee's Monkey King. (Ritchie B. Tongo/EPA)

Some Monkeys are sponsored by Pepsi ...

This monkey brings some colour todowntown Hanoi.

Municipal workers arrange flowers next to a decoration in downtown Hanoi. (Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images)

... And some are brought to you by Disney.

Disney's Abu, the monkey cartoon character fromAladdin, gota good reception when he appears for New Year celebrationsTokyo's Disneyland.

Disney's monkey character Abu greets guests during the theme park's annual New Year's Day parade at Tokyo Disneyland. (Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images)

Some Monkeys stand out...

There are some twenty thousand Chinese living in Portugal, half of them in Lisbon.

A girl wears an image of a monkey while taking part in opening the celebrations of the Chinese New Year in Lisbon. (Armando Franca/AP)

.... while others blend in.

Thissoft-toy monkey fits right in as it sitson a traditional Chinese lantern in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A soft-toy monkey sits on a Chinese lantern ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Joshua Paul/AP)

Some Monkeys take the form ofmasks.

Folk artist Zhao Yongqi migrated to Beijing for work in the 1980s where he began training under an uncle who specialises in Peking Opera makeup. He soon found he had a passion for painting monkey masks.

Folk artist Zhao Yongqi paints a monkey mask at his studio, in Beijing, China. (Jason Lee/Reuters)
Folk artist Zhao Yongqi checks one of his monkey masks. (Jason Lee/Reuters)

And this year, Monkey always has your back.

The Year of the Monkey lastsuntilJan. 27, 2017.

A vendor, left, shows the monkey decorations to a customer at market in Hong Kong. (Kin Cheung/AP)