The Chinese new year is being welcomed in with raucous celebrations despite the economic downturn.

Firecrackers have been set off in the streets of Beijing and sky to welcome in the Year of the Ox.

Celebrations are expected to carry on into the early hours of Monday, officially the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Firecrackers are believed to scare off evil spirits and entice the god of wealth to people's doorsteps once New Year's Day arrives.

Even with the global economic crisis starting to affect the world's most populous country, many chose to take their vacation overseas, helped in part by a strong Chinese currency.

In Shanghai, demand for holidays to Europe and Australia during the Lunar New Year had soared, although domestic tourism fared less well, the official Xinhua news agency said.

"The number of people travelling domestically is only a quarter of last year," travel agent Lu Min said.

"This indicates that the economic downturn has not taken its toll on high-income people, but has much affected those on middle or low incomes," Ms Lu said.

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