Hungry Ghost festival

Smoke is filling the skies of Malaysia as the ethnic Chinese population marks the Hungry Ghost Festival.

It is traditionally believed that during the seventh month of the lunar calendar, also known as the Ghost month, the gates of hell open and the spirits of dead ancestors visit the living.

Chinese families offer food and drink and burn "hell currency", or paper money, for their deceased relatives.

They also prepare offerings for wandering ghosts so that these homeless souls do not disturb them and bring misfortune.

Residents in Bandar Technology, a suburb just outside Kuala Lumpur, have prepared a multitude of offerings to ensure continued peace and prosperity of the district.

Giant joss sticks, hell currencies and other offerings fill the altars. This year, a record-breaking 36ft giant effigy of the Guardian God of Ghost, known to locals as Da Shi Ye, was also created for the festival.