The Beijinger Blog - Spring Festival

Chinese New Year By the Numbers!

thebeijinger — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0800

What do fireworks, great action movies, fruit wrapped in baskets, fancy envelopes, new clothing and people getting fat have in common? You guessed it, they’re all things you see during Chinese New Year! As this year’s chunyun comes to a close, let’s take a minute and look back on some of the impressive figures that were rung up during the CNY period.

Art Attack: Two Kuai Movies for Chunjie!

thebeijinger — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0800

Sticking around for chunjie can go two ways: You either relish the quiet (before the fireworks, anyway) and use the time to finish those projects you’ve been putting off, or you just get bitter thinking about your friends sunning on the beach in Thailand. This should help push you toward the former: the Beijing Municipal Government has launched a program of 2 kuai movies over the holiday! There are some great flicks on offer at theaters all throughout the city, so read on for all the info, handily translated and organized for you all right here.

Spring Festival Live Music Roundup: Who's Open And Closed, Albums of the Year

thebeijinger — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0800

Maybe when tons of fireworks make the streets sound like a war zone, live music isn’t needed so much. Like it or not, there’s not much going on in Beijing around Chinese New Year. In the Gulou area, while most of the bars and restaurants will take a break, Jiangjinjiu and Temple will stay open. Too bad that the former one doesn’t have any shows scheduled and will be shut down forever soon after the Spring Festival. They said that last year too.

Family Feud: Memories of an Explosive Spring Festival

thebeijinger — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0800

Spring Festival is a time for family and blowing shit up, but since I grew up in Virginia without extended family or illegal fireworks, Chinese New Year got lost between the fanfare of Christmas and the narcissistic revelry of my birthday. Kowtowing to my parents for a red envelope became a formality – like a lapsed Catholic going to Christmas mass – before it was stopped altogether. I left China at the age of four, which means I must have celebrated Spring Festival when I was very young. I have no memories of it, though. So when I came back to China in late 2007, I was excited to celebrate Spring Festival the right way – with family and explosions.

Time For Temple: Chinese New Year's Fairs

thebeijinger — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0800

One of the best parts about staying in Beijing over Chinese New Year is the chance to attend the temple fairs. Food stalls serve up goodies from chuan’r to cotton candy, while carnival games let you shoot, throw or guess your way to a bundle of cuddly stuffed animals. This year, expect plenty of dragon paraphernalia as well. All you have to do is pick which ones to go to and work on your pitching arm in the meantime.

Fireworks Banned from the CBD

lauren_mccarthy — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:00:00 +0800

The CBD may have a quiet Spring Festival now that fireworks have been banned from the area. After six years without any restrictions, during which there was a steady rise in fire and injury (like this memorable one), the ban is back.

Chun Yun Travails

lauren_mccarthy — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:00:00 +0800

The Spring Festival move has started. Chun Yun is the world’s largest yearly human migration and it is expected that half of China’s population will travel over the next few weeks. With up to 700 million people traveling trying to get home is no small feat and people have found lots of ways to avoid train travel, which - from the looks of it - does not bode well for a relaxing holiday.

Weekend Live Music Roundup: White+, Metalheads and Holiday Schedules

kopde — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 14:00:08 +0800

Quietly, people are slipping out of the capital, and so are the musicians and bar owners. The quietest week in Beijing is coming soon, but it's not here yet.
Tonight, metal bands such as Nakoma and Army of Jade Kirin keep Gulou area's MAO Livehouse rocking. Wudaokou's metal base 13 Club holds the same spirit up in a darker color. Local label Maybe Mars' major musicians, Zhang Shouwang with his White+ and P.K. 14's Yang Haisong bring in the music experiment at D-22 on Saturday.

Chinese airport delays - Now worse than India!

nick.inatey — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:08:41 +0800

Beijing Capital Airport has taken a bit of an international beating since Forbes magazine and the Beijinger last year released some damning statistics about the airport’s abysmal flight punctuality. Yet, this problem seems to be nationwide, and still decending into chaos. With Spring Festival soon approaching, we can expect more delays at the airport.

China readies itself for travel mayhem

nick.inatey — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:00:00 +0800

On January 19th, China will officially begin the Spring Festival travel season, kicking off the mass exodus to and from cities all over China. Cue the long lines, delayed trains and planes, and mayhem at the ticket booths.