The Chinese New Year 2014 is just three days away and the people have already started the celebrations.

This New Year will be celebrated on Friday (31 January), marking the start of the Year of the Wooden Horse. Chinese New Year 2014 is the 4711th year of the Chinese calendar.

This holiday is the biggest and most important one in China, as people from across the world travel to their hometowns to celebrate the Lunar New Year with family and friends.

Preparations have already started in China and across the globe to ring in the New Year. People in China started preparing New Year goods a week ago.

The preparations generally include stocking and making different sorts of traditional food, purchasing new garments, hanging couplets on both sides of the entryway and also placing red lamps inside and outside of the house, CCTV.com reported.

In China, people clean their homes before the New Year's Eve so that all the bad luck goes out and the good luck comes in. People also burst firecrackers, hoping to fend off evil spirits with the loud noise.

However, this year the Beijing Consumer Association has urged the people to not use firecrackers during the New Year celebrations.

A record number of passengers are expected to travel to China in the coming week to celebrate the festival.

"We forecast that travelers on roads and waterways on Sunday will reach more than 99 million and one million respectively," said the Ministry of Transport spokesman Liang Xiaoan, according to Xinhua.

Also Read: Chinese New Year 2014: Facts Associated with Lunar New Year

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Check out the photos of the New Year preparatioms here:

Chinese New Year 2014
Tourists take a picture in front of a giant dragon lantern during a lantern festival in Shenyang, Liaoning Province. January 27, 2014. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year, which welcomes the year of the horse, falls on January 31. [Reuters]
Chinese New Year 2014
A craftsman makes horse souvenirs at his booth ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year, in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, January 19, 2014. The Lunar New Year begins on January 31 and marks the start of the Year of the Horse, according to the Chinese zodiac. REUTERS/Sean Yong
Chinese New Year 2014
Performers in traditional costumes dance during a rehearsal of a folk dance "Tiaowuchang" to celebrate the upcoming Chinese lunar New Year, at Gucheng township of Nanjing, Jiangsu province January 20, 2014. Tiaowuchang is a local religious performance usually carried out during Chinese festivals. Performers dress up as five fierce-looking gods and dance to ward off evil and pray for good fortune. REUTERS/Sean Yong
Chinese New Year 2014
Children play with bubble toy guns under Chinese lunar New Year decorations at a park in Beijing, January 24, 2014. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year, which welcomes the year of the horse, falls on January 31. REUTERS/China Daily
Chinese New Year 2014
Pedestrians walk under red lanterns which was recently installed as Chinese New Year decorations, at Pudong Financial Area in Shanghai, January 24, 2014. According to the Chinese lunar calendar, the Chinese New Year, which welcomes the year of the horse, kicks off on January 31. Picture taken January 24, 2014. REUTERS/Aly Song