2005-02-16 - 1:02 p.m.
So we just celebrated chinese new year. The chinese and most asian countries have lunar calanders which is why they get to celebrate new years 2x a year. One on Jan 1 with the western calander, and once in about the 1st week of february.
How to describe it. Take all the festivities, and celebrations, and family traditions for 4th of july, labor day, thanksgiving, christmas and new years, now build all that up to one culminating day. That is kind of like chinese new year.
for the month before things slow down as people start to travel around the country (and world in many cases) in order to spend the new year with family. So what does this mean? In order to undestand, i estimate that about 25% of the countries population travel home. That would be about 400 million people btw (more than the population of the USA). This means reallllllly long lines at bus stations, and train stations. And even if you can fight your way to buy a ticket on transportation, it doesn't mean you have an actual seat. You have to fight to get one of thsoe too because everyone wants to sit down.
A good example. In the week before the new year, i travelled to Zhengzhou (about 45 miles away from here) by train. It was packed. Not just the seats, but there were people standing in the isles, and in between the train cars. Some of these people had been traveling this way for up to 20 hours. I managed to grab a seat because i'm a large loud lowei (and because i was quick to get on the train, and push my way through the crowd). It was cramped, and full, and boy did I want ot have a can of AXE body spray to make it smell better. To get home I arrived at the zhengzhou bus station 2 hours before the last bus, and I got on the last bus because I camped in that line first. And that was just a 45 minute train ride. Imagine if you lived in the east and had to work in the west. It could be as long as a 48 hour train ride (most people take the train, because they cannot afford to fly). Just imagine that trip especially if you can't afford a hard/soft sleeper or even a seat. And now many people are doing this on the way back to where they live.
I know many people who say thanksgiving and christmas are family time, so they travel home. They should thank the maker they can do it in America, because to do it in china is a nightmare.
So for the week before the chinese newyear and the week after it, everything closes down. The shops, the resturants, you name it, and most likely it is empty.
We went by school bus to zhengzhou on the saturday after new years (2 days later), and a city of 6 million appeared deserted (most people come to henan province to find work and leave for the festivals). We could walk down the street for 50 meters between people. A normal bustling side street was completely deserted. Of the 300 shops in that alleyway, only 2 were open.
AS for the festival itself, I will say even here in xinzheng (we are a small town only 600,000 people) it was a very nice impressive whole week affair. fire works of every size and shape, almost constantly. In fact criss was awakened in the middle of the night because the rate of fire works were so fast it sounded like water running on a tin roof.
Will
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