Chinese Internet giant Tencent will be honoring the celebration of the Lunar New Year and will be giving away 500 million "red envelopes" with up to US$800 as well as billions of coupons to WeChat users beginning Feb. 12, according to QQ Tech.

Tencent first implemented the virtual red envelope feature last year through its WeChat messaging service. The feature allowed its users to send cash gifts to family or friends and quickly gained popularity as about 5 million users sent over $20 million worth in electronic cash.

Like Us on Facebook

Red envelopes, also known as hongbao in traditional Chinese culture, are gifts typically given to each other during special occasions and holidays including the Chinese New Year. Tencent took that tradition to another level with the virtual red envelope feature allowing anyone to send gifts with a click of a button.

While the gift giving of red envelopes will still be a feature during this year's celebration, Tencent plans to step it up a notch by offering gifts of its own to 500 million WeChat users starting Feb. 12 and ending on Feb. 21.

In order to potentially receive a gift, users must utilize the messaging app's "shake" operation during specific scheduled times. By simply shaking the phone during a scheduled time, WeChat users will have the opportunity to win up to US$800 to be stored in its virtual wallet.

Tencent's success from last year's Lunar New Year celebration hasn't gone unnoticed, as Chinese companies Weibo and Alipay both implemented hongbao-gifting features of their own.

According to reports, the two companies began issuing red envelopes on Feb. 2 and reached 5.5 million gifts in the first eight hours of operation alone. 

TagsLunar New Year, Chinese New Year 2015, red envelopes, hongbao, gift giving