Published: January 28th 2009Asia » China » Yunnan » Kunming
January 28th 2009

DESERTED STREETS

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THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE IS GONE. IT SEEMS LIKE WE ARE ON ANOTHER PLANET

HAPPY SPRING FESTIVAL 2009


I wanted to share our Spring Festival experiences sooner than later, so am hoping to get a quick blog put together this morning while Ya-Li does her schoolwork.


We had heard the area around our campus would more or less shut down for about 4 weeks once we approached the week before the holiday (January 26). But hearing that and seeing it are 2 different things.


Upon our return from our trip to southern Yunnan, we were more or less shocked at the transition our neighborhood had undergone from a loud, bustling, crowded mass of students/locals/merchants and cars/buses/vans/trucks/horse-n-carts/bicycles/motorbikes that seemed to cover every square inch of open sidewalk or street to…………nothing. The openings of nearly every vendor store were closed up tight and scarcely a person could be spotted for blocks. WOW!


Good for biking we thought so had a few excursions out and about to see what was happening…….anywhere.

One sign the New Year was approaching were the scores of chicken sellers that lined a major street we transit to get to our AK friends apartment.

Another was the many firecracker and fireworks stands (See

STREET OUTSIDE CAMPUS

pic of Ya-Li choosing among countless options, none of which we had a clue of what they would do).

Also, newly purchased couplets adorned the doorways of nearly every residence, often accompanied by glowing red paper lanterns.

Finally, crates of mandarin oranges were visible at all of the fruit markets in bright red boxes. These are a must have for any family to bring when visiting friends or family during this 15 day holiday. Tangerines and oranges are passed out freely during Chinese New Year as the words for tangerine and orange sound like luck and wealth, respectively.


On the eve of Spring Festival, (Sunday night) we met and had dinner with half of our friend’s the Ramsey’s, as the mom and daughter had gone to Shanghai for her sister’s wedding. Biking around earlier in the day, Ya-Li and I discovered a Japanese restaurant not too far from our campus was still open and seeing we had been wanting to try it, was a good option for our Spring Festival meal.


The dinner was all fish based and after many courses a small whole salmon, partially carved as sushi, was set on the table.

DECORATIONS ADORN A LOCAL RESTAURANT

In China a fish served whole is a symbol of prosperity. Fish also has symbolic significance because the Chinese word for fish, yu, sounds like the word for riches or abundance, and it is believed that eating fish will help your wishes come true in the year to come. Notwithstanding the positive symbolic aspects of the fish, I was in diners heaven. Eventually the remaining salmon was added to a hot pot joining a variety of vegetables and noodles. It was a meal to remember.


As we left the restaurant, a show of fireworks appeared in the sky above, a precursor of what was to come. All day firecrackers had been popping everywhere, and the frequency and loudness was escalating as we biked back to the campus to light some of our own.



Around 11pm we took off to climb a local mountain in order to get a birdseye view of the city. We had been told Kunming was going to provide lots of firework shows across the city to help reduce the number of individuals doing their own. A high injury rate in the past has contributed to local officials trying to offer a

CHICKENS, CHICKENS, CHICKENS

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WE PASSED BLOCK UPON BLOCK OF THESE CHICKENS AVAILABLE FOR SPRING FESTIVAL DINNER.

safer alternative. The hike has become familiar to us, so with flashlights in hand we were soon above the trees and situated to see and hear a 180 degree panorama of non stopping fireworks and firecrackers. The video clips at the top of this page offer a glimpse of what we saw and heard.

It was quite incredible.

So entered the Year of the OX, an appropriate symbol to follow the Rat!

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

A look at China's Lunar New Year (Some info from China Daily newspaper)


Like the celebration of Christmas in many western countries, the weeklong Lunar New Year holiday traditionally provides a significant chunk of annual revenue for many businesses in China and other Asian countries.
Now squeezed by the global economic slump, many Chinese families and companies are cutting their spending on gifts and banquets to welcome the Year of the Ox, which begins January 26.


Here are some details on the Lunar New Year:

THE OX:

Each year in the 12-year Chinese lunar calendar, in use for more than 2,000 years, is represented by an animal.

YA-LI AND CHICKENS

And people born in a given animal's year are said to share its qualities -- passion and cunning for the Year of the Rat, duty and persistent strength for the Year of the Ox, confidence and energy for the Year of the Horse.
China and other Asian nations switched to the Western calendar in the 20th century for business and government, but the lunar calendar's new year and autumn moon festival still are popular in China, including the mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao -- and other neighbouring nations like Vietnam, Singapore -- and in Chinatowns from Sydney to New York.


THE CELEBRATION:

As families gather and exchange gifts, hold banquets, set off fireworks and visit temples to mark the new year, the millions of migrants who have moved to China's cities to work return home for what is usually their single annual visit.



THE 2 LAST PHOTOS WERE NOT TAKEN BY ME, BUT SHOW AN INCREDIBLE OX CREATED OUT OF DISHES!