Ringing in the Year of the Rabbit

Happy Chinese New Year! 

恭喜发财

Beijing's beautiful Houhai neighborhood

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Among many traditions associated with this holiday is the practice of returning to one’s old ancestral home (老家) to spend the New Year with relatives, resulting in the largest annual mass migration of people—around 700 million people traveling at one time.  As few would consider Beijing their “ancestral home”, the city is empty right now, shops and restaurants are closed, and if it weren’t for McDonald’s 24-hour delivery (a truly unfortunate staple in the lethargic Beijing expat’s diet) I am not sure where several meals would come from. However, this is not to say that Beijing is quiet right now.

Which brings me to the next big tradition of the Chinese New Year (more commonly known as the Spring Festival or 春节 here). And that is, FIREWORKS. By fireworks, I mean that in the last two days alone I have seen no less than twenty times the number of fireworks that I had previously seen in my lifetime.  Unlike most cities in the world, where the fire department puts on highly controlled shows once or twice a year for the New Year or 4th of July, in China EVERYONE launches fireworks, all the time, anywhere, for the entirety of the Spring Festival (roughly ten days). Hundreds of fireworks explode right outside my window every day, and we are not talking about dinky sparklers or firecrackers, but rather the same professional-grade fireworks you would see in a city-sponsored Fourth of July fireworks display. Needless to say, my roommates and I felt it was only respectful to honor this venerated tradition, and did our part in scaring away the mythical beast Nian (the original aim of setting off fireworks) by buying a ton of fireworks to launch in the courtyard of our apartment complex.

While in the US this is beyond extremely illegal to do in the middle of cities, it is entirely commonplace here.  Seeing a row of amazing fireworks explode from a barrier in the middle of a city street—sparks reflected in the glass of highrises—is exquisite. But no matter how beautiful it may be, I would not go so far as to say that it is super-duper safe. Until yesterday, I cannot say that I had ever accidentally ended up in the center of a firework. I am also not quite sure that it was the greatest idea for someone to suddenly set off a strip of firecrackers in front of the cab I was riding in—nearly causing an accident—but oh, who knows. You would think the city of Beijing might be if only slightly more cautious after the disaster of two years ago, when China Central Television’s new 44-story building caught fire from Spring Festival fireworks (the burned remains of which I can see from my apartment). Luckily the building was unfinished and there were no casualties, though perhaps an amendment to regulations might have been appropriate?

It is possible this is no longer the safest tradition for a city of 22 million people packed in highrise-dense urban sprawl, though it undoubtedly has been the most amazing display I have ever seen. We are now in the 5th straight day of fireworks, and as of yet there has been no lull—morning, noon, and 4 in the morning (I’d like to have a word with you, whoever you are) a constant warlike thunder rumbles across Beijing. As you will see from the video below that I took just a couple hours ago from my bedroom window, even though the New Year has passed, the intensity of the fireworks display has not. In brief, if you ever happen to be in Beijing during the Spring Festival, you are in for a treat.