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Published: February 24th 2011
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BOOM! CRASH! POW!
The city of Beijing is as bright as day as fireworks explode in the night sky. My earbuds are jammed firmly into my ears and the volume on my iPod is turned up to maximum volume, but I still cannot hear the sweet, sweet refrains of Michael Jackson due to the barrage of noise hurtling towards me. As I'm fumbling with my iPod, reluctantly putting it back into my bag for safekeeping, fireworks explode on the sidewalk not two feet in front of me and I jump backwards, petrified. An elderly Chinese gentlemen out for his after-dinner stroll cackles in my direction. Obviously, he thinks I'm a green thumb when it comes to Chinese New Year, but I have been alternately anticipating and dreading the holiday for weeks.
Chinese New Year, or "Spring Festival", as it's known in Chinese, is celebrated in late January to early February, depending on the lunar calendar. The week prior to the festival, makeshift firework shops housed in giant tents pop up on street corners all over the city; the sale of US commercial-grade fireworks to minors doesn't faze anyone. No one seems to grasp the potential ramifications of gunpowder, despite
the fact that it was invented in China (along with clocks, maps, the printing press, pizza- oh, heck, basically everything), as illustrated by the numbers of prospective customers perusing the wares for sale with cigarettes dangling from their lips. Consequently, I have mapped a new, safer route to the company shuttle stop in the morning.
This year, New Year's Eve fell on February 2. The family (as my expat friends and I refer to one another) thought it would be fun to go traditional this year- we made, wrapped, and ate Chinese dumplings for dinner (they're thought to bring luck, since the shape resembles ancience Chinese money), though we were a bit blasphemous in our choice of fillings, which included hamburger and korean kimchee. The men of the family undertook the most important responsibility of the holiday- purchasing the fireworks. Their excitement was palpable as the clock ticked tortuously slowly toward midnight. Soon, they were pacing anxiously- Men:
But they're going to sell out! Women:
This is China. They won't sell out of fireworks. Trust us. At about 8:30 PM, the women gave in and gave the men the all-clear to hit the streets. They were out the door
before the end of the sentence.
They returned about an hour later, laden with explosives; the stack of fireworks nearly reached from floor to ceiling. I have to admit, it was quite impressive. About every 20 minutes, one of the guys would pipe up with a "Is it time to go outside and blow things up yet??" And, finally, it was time.
If you have never been on the ground in China at midnight on Chinese New Year's Eve, you really should. It's spectacular. Every inch of the night sky is aglow with bursting color and the reverberating booms of the fireworks can be felt deep inside one's chest. It's fairly dangerous, but it's hard not to feel invincable when holding an exploding roman candle high over your head. However, consider these statistics:
* China's Spring Festival fireworks-setting frenzy caused 194 fires in Beijing in the first six days of the week-long holiday, which was 99 more than in the same period last year. Way to go, Beijing!
* In 2009, exploding fireworks set fire to the CCTV tower in the Central Business District of Beijing, mere weeks before it was slated to open. It still
stands dark, empty, and sad.
* There were 388 firework-related injuries in the city (including one casualty who apparently “received an eyeball removal surgery”) and at least two fatalities.
* Outside of Beijing, the biggest Spring Festival casualty in terms of buildings seems to have been the five-star Dynasty Wanxin Hotel in Shenyang, Liaoning, which was gutted by fire last week. A police spokesman was quoted as saying, “Sparks from fireworks ignited a plastic lawn on a flat roof and the flames quickly spread.” Amazingly, no casualties were reported. And, on the plus side, no one needs to worry about mowing the roof lawn anymore!
* The New York Times reported that, “during the first 32 hours of the holiday, Chinese officials tallied nearly 6,000 fires.”
* The New York Times also claims that last year locals spent over US $3 billion on fireworks – which means around RMB 19 billion went up in smoke. No figures have been published for the amount spent so far in 2011.
So, there is a price for the festivity.
The New Year celebrations, which traditionally conclude with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the lunar calendar, (this year that day fell on Thursday, February 17) were joyfully celebrated with fireworks within Beijing’s Fifth Ring between midnight and 7am and then banned altogether after the 17th- at least until the madness recommences next year. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of the firework-setters for the first few days of the holiday. However, more than a few expats tire of the noise by the Lantern Festival. Please refer to the chart entitled "Enthralled to Suicidal: How Foreigners Experience Spring Festival in China" (borrowed from The World of Chinese magazine, www.theworldofchinese.com).
I jest, but the truth of the matter is that celebrating Chinese New Year in China is pretty awesome. Having a surrogate family in the city with whom to celebrate makes the holiday even better. We're already plotting how to top ourselves next year, though the display this year will be hard to beat. I've said it before, but I'll say it again- it doesn't matter where in the world you live, as long as you stay connected to those you care about and have a network in the city in which you live, you'll always be home.
Now please excuse me while I go shake the ash out of my hair.
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Bigbrother
Lee DaeHyung
shock and awe!
It is very shock that a chinese lost his own one eye by a firework accident and It is very awesome that “during the first 32 hours of the holiday, Chinese officials tallied nearly 6,000 fires " and “during the first 32 hours of the holiday, Chinese officials tallied nearly 6,000 fires.” As there are many pepole in Beijing, as there are many eyes in Beijing. so don't they(Chinese people) care that "Just one eyeball" is removed from many eyeballs in Beijing? Good , shock and awesome information about spring festival in Beijing. :) your reader in SoKo.