The Chinese animal signs are a 12-year cycle used for dating the years. They represent a cyclical concept of time, rather than the Western linear concept of time. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, and is constructed in a different fashion than the Western solar calendar. In the Chinese calendar, the beginning of the year falls somewhere between late January and early February. Several countries including China, Liberia, Somalia, Australia, Sierra Leone and the Isle of Man have issued coinage featuring the Chinese Lunar Series of Zodiac coins.