Falun Dafa practitioners in Sydney, Australia, celebrate World Falun Dafa Day with a parade through the Central Business District. (Sonya Bryskine/The Epoch Times)
May 13 marks the 20th anniversary of the public introduction of Falun Dafa (or Falun Gong). Practitioners from around the world began celebrating earlier in the month, with a grand celebration in New York City this weekend.
Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners exercise in Times Square to begin a day of festivities in celebration of World Falun Dafa Day on May 12, 2012. (Dai Bing/The Epoch Times)Falun Dafa practitioners perform a dragon dance on Times Square as part of the World Falun Dafa Day celebration on May 12. (Edward Dai/The Epoch Times)Practitioners of Falun Gong meditate in Chinese costume as part of the May 6th Falun Dafa Day celebrations in central Seoul, South Korea. (Jarrod Hall/The Epoch Times)A family meditates peacefully with other Falun Gong practitioners in the sunshine as part of Falun Dafa Day celebrations in central Seoul, South Korea. (Jarrod Hall/The Epoch Times)Hundreds of Falun Dafa practitioners gathered in Battery Park in south Manhattan to practice the exercises. Here they can be seen forming the Chinese characters meaning "righteous way". (Rob Counts/The Epoch Times)The celebrations began as early as May 1st for World Falun Dafa Day. This group photo taken in Malaysia, has a banner that celebrates the 20 years of Falun Dafa spreading in the world. (The Epoch Times)A young practitioner performs a ribbon dance at the Secaucus, New Jersey World Falun Dafa Day celebration on May 12. (Courtesy of Matthew Danza)Hundreds of Falun Dafa practitioners pose for a photo celebrating the 20 year anniversary since the practice was first introduced to the public. (Dai Bing/The Epoch Times)The lions dance through Manhattan's Chinatown. (Jeff Nenarella/The Epoch Times)In this segment of the the 6,000-person parade through Chinatown, Falun Dafa practitioners demonstrate their exercise movements. (Evan Ning/The Epoch Times)This position, called "heshi" in Chinese can be seen in 4 out of the 5 Falun Dafa excercises. (Jeff Nenarella/The Epoch Times)Estimates put the number of parade participants around 6,000 on Saturday. The front banner states "Celebrating Falun Dafa's 20 Years." (Jeff Nenarella/The Epoch Times)Jane Dai walks as part of the procession in the World Falun Dafa parade through New York's Chinatown. She holds a photo of her late husband who was persecuted to death in 2001. For eleven years she has traveled the world to raise awareness about the persecution in China. (Riordan Galluccio/The Epoch Times)On May 11, a beautiful sunny day, Practitioners of Falun Dafa from Israel, gathered in Jerusalem to celebrate World Falun Dafa Day with exercise demonstrations and dances. (Yaira Yasmin/The Epoch Times)A passerby signs a petition calling for the end of the persecution on Falun Dafa Day in Jerusalem. (Yaira Yasmin/The Epoch Times)The fifth exercise of Falun Dafa is a tranquil meditation. Hundreds demonstrate the exercises on Times Square, May 12 in New York City. (Henry Lam/The Epoch Times)On Friday, May 11th, Falun Gong practitioners demonstrate the exercises at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza near U.N. headquarters in New York City. (Dai Bing/The Epoch Times)Practitioners traveled from around the world to participate in the weekend long activities for World Falun Dafa Day. These practitioners, dressed in traditional clothing, came thousands of miles from Korea. (Henry Lam/The Epoch Times)"Belle" performs "Be the Voice" calling for end of the persecution of Falun Dafa in China. (Ben Chasteen/The Epoch Times)Afternoon performances highlight the all day festivities at Times Square for World Falun Dafa Day on May 12. (Ben Chasteen/The Epoch Times)
Falun Gong practitioners model traditional Chinese clothing called "Han Couture" on Times Square on May 12. (Ben Chasteen/The Epoch Times)A Falun Dafa practitioner holds a bundle of balloons before boarding a tour bus to travel around Manhattan on May 12. (Jeff Nenarella/The Epoch Times)A small child performs in a traditional Chinese lion dance in Chinatown on May 12 in New York City. (Riordan Galluccio/The Epoch Times)People of all ages, including children, participated in World Falun Dafa Day activities in London's Trafalgar Square on May 13th. (Stefan Byfield/The Epoch Times)Practicing the exercises of Falun Dafa in Berlin, Germany on World Falun Dafa Day, May 13. (Renate Lilge-Stodieck/The Epoch Times)Falun Dafa practitioners in Sydney, Australia, celebrate World Falun Dafa Day with a parade through the Central Business District. (Sonya Bryskine/The Epoch Times)
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