Chinese New Year: my experience

Spring Festival

The oldest and most important festival in China, more commonly known in the West as Chinese New Year. In someways it's very similar to our Christmas, but different in so many ways.

I spent the majority of the New Year's Eve day with Roxie (one of my best friends in China) and Asia (a new cool Polish trainee) wandering around Beijing. Firstly we went to Lama Temple, where there was a fair around the Temple's grounds.

With red lanterns were hanging off many of the trees...

... traditional dancing on a stage ...

... they tried to show off Chinese culture.

After spending a few hours wandering around, we decided to walk towards the Hutongs in central Beijing, which are the small houses in old lanes and alleyways, many of which are being knocked down every day (www.hutongphotography.com). On first sight these houses look run-down, poor and on the verge of collapsing. However, like most things in China, the reality is different to how it first seems.

Roxie showed us her grandparent's house in the Hutong area, which from the outside it looks like one of the nicer hutongs. While we couldn't go inside, we could look through the windows, where to my suprise the inside looked really similar to my Serbian grandad's house, and similar to my late grans house, with old black and white framed photos, flowers, stylish wooden chairs and a twenty year old TV. For 8 months I believed that this area of town was really poor and therefore a special part of Beijing, but now I realise that my perceptions weren't accurate, and that it's special for different reasons.

After lunch, we moved onto Beihai park, a well preserved imperial garden just north of the centre of Beijing - which was incredibly relaxing. In spring I think I'll spend a lot of time there, as it's a really nice place where I can enjoy it's peace and quiet.

After this, we went back to the apartment for a nap, before going down to Beijing's bar district (Sanliton) to meet up with the other international AIESECers around the world. England, Northern Ireland, Japan, Poland, US, South Africa, Italy, Romania and Germany were all represented around the table of this Thai restaurant, which although expensive was really good fun.



We then moved to a bar, where we had a few drinks European style, chatting away.

When it hit midnight, we moved outside with our beers, where the whole of Beijing seemed to be on fire! Fireworks were banned from central Beijing for 5 years, but this year they were allowed again, so fireworks were exploding everywhere, with two big firework displays nearby, with people shooting fireworks from the streets and even from their house windows! It is incredibly dangerous to do all of this, but it did make an amazing sight, and these fireworks have continued throughout the whole of New Years Day also, which I guess must be very difficult for anyone with a hangover.

All in all, it wasn't a 100% authentic Chinese experience, but it was quite Chinese and it was really enjoyable.

Chinese New Year - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year

Year of the Pig - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pig_(zodiac)