Feature: Celebrating Chinese New Year on the Mississippi

CHICAGO, Feb. 3 (Xinhua) -- Chinese knots, rabbit and panda dolls, together with a lion dance made for a festive atmosphere on the Mississippi.

Nearly 100 local residents gathered Wednesday at a hotel conference room in Muscatine, a city on the Mississippi in the U.S. state of Iowa, for an event hosted by the Chinese Consulate in Chicago to celebrate the Chinese New Year.