What could the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy, the founder of the largest social networking site and the Duke of Cambridge possibly have in common? The answer is.. Mandarin. (Sorry Bill Gates!)
All three took to various forms of social media to send out greetings in Mandarin for the Chinese Lunar New Year. PM Modi tweeted his greetings to all those who celebrate the new year in China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Korea both in English and the local tongue. "Greetings on the start of the Chinese New Year. May the coming year brighten your lives with peace, joy & prosperity", tweeted PM Modi and followed this by another tweet in Mandarin.
His tweet was re-tweeted 334 times:
Forever the newsmaker, Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg posted a video of himself speaking Mandarin on his Facebook page. The techie distinguished himself last year by speaking the Chinese tongue while addressing a question-and-answer session among students.
Standing in front of a bright red backdrop with a traditional Chinese lantern, Zuckerberg wishes everybody a happy new year in Mandarin. However we do spy the word 'Facebook' in his message.
Mark's Mandarin video has already received over nine lakh views and 7k shares:
Prince William, second in line for the throne after Prince Charles, also shared a video message in the Chinese language which was released by Buckingham Palace to the press. This video, posted by Press Association on its YouTube channel, comes ahead of the royal's three-day visit to China in March. In the 55 second message, he talks not just about the new year but also the changing relationship of the United Kingdom and China.
Watch till the end to catch the prince speak Mandarin with surprising ease:
According to the Chinese calendar, the Year of the Horse now comes to an end, and the Year of the Sheep begins. In this graphic released by Agence France-Presse on its Facebook page, we get to see a glimpse of the celebrities born in the Year of the Sheep and the most importance events that have taken place in history:
Expect pictures of plates full of mouthwatering food, dragon dances, fireworks, traditional decoration everywhere on social media today - the Year of the Sheep is here! China's state-run news website, CCTV News released these amazing pictures of the new year festivities that have already started in different parts of the world :
Australia is celebrating with dragon-boat racing:
Sydney's neon-lit terracotta lanterns are also making news:
The dazzling fireworks seen in the United Arab Emirates:
Indonesian streets are lined by traditional Chinese lanterns:
In Malaysia and Thailand, cherry blossoms used as decoration:
Those in America - Beverly Hills and Los Angeles to be precise - are giving each other 'good fortune envelopes':
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