With cheers and applause along the Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena of the Los Angeles County, the annual Rose Parade was attended by thousands of people amid tight security on Monday.

Hundreds of thousands of locals and visitors gathered in Pasadena in the night of New Year's Day, waiting for the biggest U.S. west coast New Year celebration event.

Compared with previous years, this year's 5.5-mile (9-km) parade route was highly secured due to the numerous terrorist attacks in the world. Multiple security-related obstacles were set up, including water-filled obstacles at 52 intersections designed to thwart any high-speed vehicle attacks.

All the interjections along the parade route were blocked to prevent any possible large-scale disruptions similar to the terrorist attacks in Berlin and France in 2016.

The parade this year began at 8 a.m.(1600 GMT) with the customary U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit aircraft flying over the route.

One of the top awards at the 2017 Rose Parade went to "The Spirit of Hawaii," a float with waterfalls, a princess with fiery hands and a working volcano. The float had one of the largest portable waterfalls to ever make its way through Pasadena. Couples of Hawaii dressed men and women were dancing around the float.

Riding on a float titled "To Honor and Remember Orlando" were three survivors of the June 12 Orlando mass shooting that left 49 people dead and 53 others wounded. It featured a giant dove soaring over a field of 49 white stars representing each of the victims of the attack.

Some 22 marching bands from across the country marched between 42 fresh flower floats.

Most of the floats were built by professional float building companies and took nearly a year to construct. The year-long effort was paid off when millions of viewers around the world enjoyed the Rose Parade.

A float named "The Monkey King: Journey to Success" was inspired by the epic Chinese novel "Journey to the West," and sponsored by a local Chinese company.

Originated in 1890, the Rose Parade floats have evolved from horse carriages to now fancier high-tech computerized animation.

source: Xinhua