People offeri sticks of burning incense

People offeri sticks of burning incense at the White Cloud Temple in Beijing on January 21, 2009 ahead of the coming Lunar New Year of the Ox which starts on January 26. The Taoist temple, known as Baiyunguan in Chinese, is one of the oldest in northern China and plays host each year to huge crowds during the Spring Festival holidays in Beijing, where the new year tradition of temple fairs remains ever popular. Taoism is a philosophy, a religion and a basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine and sixty years of communist rule has failed to loosen the grip that this blend of pholosophy, alchemy and superstition holds over Chinese society. AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)