Chinese New Year parade winds through San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Chinese New Year parade started at 5:15 p.m. Saturday night at Second and Market streets in San Francisco. The floats, lion dancers, acrobats, martial arts groups and of course dragons traveled from Market Street to Union Square and then headed to Chinatown before ending at Columbus Avenue.

It's the largest Chinese New Year parade outside of Asia and it was named one of the top ten parades in the world.

People waited for hours along the sidewalks to catch a glimpse of the beautiful floats and elaborate costumes.

For many, the highlight of the day will be the golden dragon and firecracker grand finale.

The golden dragon is over 200 feet long and requires 100 men and women to carry it through the streets. It's covered with colored lights and trimmed in white rabbit fur.