The Empire State Building and the One World Trade Center, two of New York city's iconic landmarks, also shone red on the night of Jan 28. The Empire State Building has done so for 25 consecutive years to celebrate Chinese New Year.

"We are delighted to see the Empire State Building serve as a bridge for American friends to better understand Chinese culture, which highlights the importance of people-to-people exchanges in promoting friendship between our two countries," said China's Consul General in New York, Chen Li. He made the remarks while jointly unveiling a window exhibition with Jean-Yves Ghazi, president of the Empire State Building Observatory, at the Fifth Avenue lobby to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The window exhibition, featuring exhibits related to the Year of the Snake according to the Chinese zodiac, will run for several weeks.

Mingmei Li in New York contributed to this story.