In the traditional Chinese Lunar Calendar, 12 animals form a zodiac cycle. The animal associated with this year is the horse. The horse was important in ancient times for hunting, farming, and warfare; it is also recognized as one of the six most important animals associated with humans. Horses symbolize luck, virtue and a progressive spirit, and most Chinese idioms about horses are positive - such as ma dao cheng gong, literally success on the horse, which means immediate success; yi ma dang xian, literally marching forward on the horse, meaning progress in career or business; or long ma jing shen, literally the spirit of horse and dragon, which means a high and progressive spirit. People have been welcoming the Year of the Horse in different ways, with those born in previous years of the horse wearing red clothing and red belts. Among them are pupils and retired teacher and engineer, as well as horse trainer. Each of them has their own story and has expectations and dreams for their birth year. China Daily shares their stories and sends best wishes to them.

Zero year old

A horse is projected on to the stomach of Yu Xuefei on Jan 5, 2014. The 27-year-old mother-to-be wanted to express her best wishes to her baby, who will be born in the Year of the Horse.

Yu said that to her horses symbolize goodness and freedom, and she hopes her baby will grow freely into a good person. She also wished that medical accidents involving babies would disappear, so that all of them could be born and grow healthily. photo by Wei Xiaohao / China Daily