Hundreds of thousands of people ushered in the year of the dragon by viewing the Lunar New Year Parade in Chinatown on Sunday.

Besides thousands of marchers, the parade also featured floats, colorful dragon decorations, marching bands, antique cars and acrobats.

"This is our Times Square today in Manhattan," said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.

As musicians and mythical creatures wound their way through Lower Manhattan's narrow winding streets, some spectators enjoyed their first time taking in what has become one of the citys biggest winter events.

"This is my first time after living here 20 years," said one onlooker. "It's great, the kids love it."

Without a doubt, the star of the show was the animal at the heart of this lunar new year's celebration — the dragon, a symbol of power and luck.

"I really like dragons and little dragon dancers," said one spectator.

"Lots of dragons, that's all I wanted to see," said another.

The year of the dragon is always considered special, but this particular year of the water dragon carries special meaning.

"Water represents money, so the dragon will bring fortune and money to our community. That's what we need now, right? Jobs and money," said President Sam Pang of the Better Chinatown Society, a parade organizer.

Judging from all the traditional red new year's envelopes filled with cash in the crowd, it seemed the dragon was already bringing some prosperity.

"You get as much as you want. It's the best thing you can get from Chinese New Year," said a paradegoer with a red envelope.

A cultural festival at Sara Roosevelt Park, which kicked off the celebrations in the morning, offered booths, performances and traditional Asian foods, including a giant cake that was served to hundreds of people.

For more information, visit BetterChinatown.com.