Monday 30 January 2012

Chinese New Year in Zhuhai!

Spring Festival (also known round the world as Chinese New Year) came this year on the 21st of January, and everything goes a bit mental. In the weeks leading up to the festival, most factories close so that their employees can go back to their home-town to spend New Years with their family.

Apparently Chinese New Year (CNY) is the largest human migration in the world, this year according to state television over 600 million people travel back to their home towns. I unfortunately was not one of them. It seems that if you have not decided on where you are going to spend CNY before Christmas, you are destined to spend it in your city, which will turn into a ghost town; exhibit A:

The main road in Jida, Zhuhai- Chinese New Year
This photo was taken on the day before CNY, and it got worse, it seemed in Zhuhai there was no people, but somehow thousands of fireworks. I can honestly say I think I have shell shock from the amount of times I jumped out of my skin to the sounds of explosions by my head!

On the plus side, we do get a week off work, however it is a week off work wondering from closed shops if you are not smart enough to buy food before the 21st:

No food for interns at CNY!
Twice I tried to get to Hong Kong, and twice I failed. The first time pretty much all ferry tickets were booked up, and the second I got to the desk to buy a ticket to watch them sell out in front of me!

Still, it is a very interesting time of year- everyone seems to be even more happier than they usually are, and if you are lucky enough to have a Chinese girlfriend you get a Hong Bao!!

Check out some of these posts on Chinese New Year on our blogs:




  

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