Chinese New Year 2010

On February 14th 2010, millions of people around the world celebrated the start of the Chinese Year of the Tiger. Chinese New Year is an ancient festival that has been celebrated for centuries and is the longest and most important event in the Chinese calendar. Also known as the Spring Festival, the event lasts for 15 days after the start of the New Year and involves a wide variety of celebrations and traditions. You can read more about the traditions involved in this festival by reading our previous article: Chinese New Year 2008.

Manchester, the home of NCC Education’s head office holds large Chinese New Year celebrations, which are attended by thousands of people every year. You can read about this year’s events by clicking here.

Below, NCC Education employee Nina Gao describes how she spent this year’s Spring Festival in Beijing:

My Spring Festival of 2010 by Nina Gao

The most important holiday for Chinese people is the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). During this period, almost everyone goes back to their hometown and spends the holidays with their families. This year I spent the holidays in Beijing.

The most memorable part for me was the firecrackers. At midnight of New Year’s Eve we congregated on the street and simultaneously set off innumerable fireworks. It seems that all the fireworks are waiting for this important and beautiful moment. With the huge “bang”, the firecrackers flew into the sky and turned into beautiful flowers. Some firecrackers were blown up like chrysanthemums, while some like waterfalls from the sky, and some like shining stars in the sky. I couldn’t help saying “How beautiful the fireworks are!” The colourful fireworks in the sky and the red lanterns on the streets showed our happiness in the spring festival.

Another memorable part is going to the Temple Fair, which is a traditional cultural event in the Spring Festival. Temple Fairs in Beijing are held every Spring Festival, and preserve many traditional customs. The most famous Temple Fairs are those of the White Cloud Temple (白云观), the Altar of Earth (地坛), Dragon Pool (龙潭湖) and the Temple of Intense Happiness (隆福寺). I went to the Temple Fair of Altar of Earth during the holidays. I saw many people gathered at the gate of the Temple Fair when I got close to the Altar of Earth.

“Wow! So crowded!” I thought.

After entering the gate I found that I could not walk but moved forward slowly in the crowd, everybody squashed together. There were many merchant booths on both sides of the road, which were selling plastic flowers and toys, such as pinwheels, plastic  spears, swords and halberds. It was a child’s paradise.

Various artistic performances and the tasty snacks of Beijing were my favourite parts. I also enjoyed the traditional Yangge dancing, the people on stilts, and shadow play, the drum beating, the clay sculptures, the dough figurines and paper-cut decorations, which are characteristic of Beijing culture.

I have spent a wonderful Spring Festival in Beijing. I can’t wait to enjoy the Temple Fair again next year.

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Categories: Festivals (Articles)

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