LIVE: Beijing celebrates start of 2026 with Taiwan and Singapore

Here is the moment fireworks explode from the Taipei 101 building in Taiwan during the New Year’s celebrations in the capital Taipei.

The Asian nations celebrating new year are coming thick and fast now.

In 25 minutes time, New Year’s Eve revellers in Jakarta, Bangkok, Hanoi and Phnom Penh will be the next to enter 2026.

As ever, we will endeavor to show you the best pictures and videos from those cities.

Here’s how crowds in Beijing celebrated the new year with a drum performance at the Juyongguan Great Wall.

Here was the scene in Marina Bay, Singapore, where fireworks exploded into the sky as the country welcomed 2026.

We’ve just reached 4pm UK time which means Beijing has now officially entered 2026 along with other major Asian destinations including Hong Kong, Singapore and Manila.

Here’s a picture of crowds gathering in the Chinese capital for a New Year Countdown celebration at the Juyongguan Great Wall.

Here are the latest pictures we can show you from the Taiwanese capital Taipei where a New Year’s Eve party is taking place in the city amid heavy rain.

Crowds at the party have watched a concert and are now waiting for a fireworks display at Taipei 101 – a 101-storey skyscraper in the city.

While Sydney is known for its spectacular fireworks display, New Year’s Eve celebrations in Japan and South Korea are much different.

Pictured below was the scene in Seoul’s Bosingak, where a bell-ringing ceremony was held to mark the end of 2025 and start of a new year.

As the final countdown approaches, crowds count down from 10 before the bell strikes at midnight.

In Tokyo, crowds at Zojo-ji temple – a Buddhist place of worship – heard bells rung 108 times.

Meanwhile, North Korea has also entered 2026 with a fireworks display at Kim II Sung Square in the capital Pyongyang.

Hong Kong will ring in 2026 without fireworks over Victoria Harbour after a massive fire in November killed at least 161 people.

The city’s tourism board will instead host a music show on Wednesday night featuring soft rock duo Air Supply and other singers in Central, a business district that also is home to the famous nightlife hub Lan Kwai Fong.

The facades of eight landmarks will turn into giant countdown clocks presenting a three-minute light show at midnight.

Fireworks have long been part of the city’s celebrations for the new year.

Hong Kong will officially enter 2026 at 4pm UK time

Beijing will be among the cities and nations next to enter 2026.

The Chinese capital will enter the new year along with Hong Kong, Singapore and Manila – capital of the Philippines.

During his New Year’s Eve address, Chinese President Xi Jinping said ‘reunification is unstoppable’ after Beijing announced the end of live-fire drills around Taiwan.

Japan and South Korea have now entered 2026 with celebrations taking place across both countries

Earlier we reported how crowds had gathered Tokyo’s Zojo-ji temple – a Buddhist place of worship – for a traditional bell-ringing ceremony.

While people were pictured enjoying the lights and taking selfies in Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square earlier on.

Cities across Indonesia have scaled back New Year’s Eve festivities as a mark of respect to communities devastated by floods and landslides that struck parts of Sumatra island a month ago, claiming more than 1,100 lives.

The capital, Jakarta, is not ringing in 2026 with its usual fanfare, choosing subdued celebrations with a program centered on prayers for victims, city officials said last week.

Concerts and fireworks in Bali have been cancelled and replaced with a cultural arts event featuring traditional dances (pictured below).

Vladimir Putin donned heavy make-up as he vowed victory in the war with Ukraine in his New Year message.

As 2026 arrived in the extreme east of Russia, his message was angled to his troops – as he defied efforts to find peace with Kyiv.

The Russian President said: ‘I congratulate all our soldiers and commanders on the upcoming New Year!

‘We believe in you and our victory.’

He was speaking less than two weeks before his war in Ukraine will have lasted longer than the 1,418 days Josef Stalin led the Soviet Union in the Second World War in Europe between 1941-45.