People take part in mass water fights during the first day of Songkran, or Thai New Year, on Khao San Road in Bangkok on April 13, 2023. (Photo by Lillian Suwanrumpha/AFP Phoot)

A diver dressed as “Mermaid of the Serpent Depths” performs in front of a sign marking the Lunar New Year of the Snake inside an aquarium at Manila Ocean Park on January 28, 2025. (Photo by Jam Sta Rosa/AFP Photo)

A dog owner feeds her dog during a dinner for dogs event ahead of the Lunar New Year at Kong Shan Yunnan Bistro restaurant in Shanghai, China, on January 25, 2025. (Photo by Go Nakamura/Reuters)

It’s a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, where two stallions fight over a female to ring the Chinese new year. And when it’s the Year of the Horse, the fights are considered to be even more significant. They’re held in small villages across southern China and have been condemned by animal rights groups, including Hong-Kong based Animals Asia. But those who participate in the events defend the fights and insist they take care of the animals.

Balis Chinese community perform the dragon dance during Chinese New Year called Ngelawang ceremony on January 21, 2023 in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. The Chinese diaspora of Southeast Asia is celebrating Lunar New Year, as COVID-19 restrictions have been removed, it is traditionally a time for people to meet their relatives and take part in celebrations with families. In Indonesia, ethnic Chinese families visited temples to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit on January 22. (Photo by Agung Parameswara/Getty Images)

People dressed as a “Chinese Dragon”, swim in water at the Beijing Aquarium on January 5, 2012 in Beijing, China. The new year in Chinese calendar is the year of Dragon which will fall on January 21, 2012. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images)

A devotee holds incense sticks while celebrating the Sindoor Jatra Festival on April 15, 2015 in Thimi, Nepal. Sindoor Jatra Festival is celebrated each year in Thimi, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, to welcome the Nepali New Year and celebrate the coming of spring. During the Festival, devotees are smeared with vermillion powder and 30 chariots containing the images of several gods and goddesses are carrying by the devotees around the town, while others sing, dance and play musical instruments. (Photo by Omar Havana/Getty Images)

An isolated five-floor building stands in the middle of a new road on November 22, 2012 in Wenling, Zhejiang Province of China. Zhejiang Province of China. 67-year-old Luo Baogen and his 65-year-old wife from Xiazhangyang village still live in the half-demolished residential building, because they are dissatisfied with the relocation compensation. The road, which leads to the Wenling Railway Station, has not been put into use. (Photo by China Foto Press)