China welcomes Year of the Dragon (Lead)
January 23rd, 2012 - 10:36 pm ICT by IANSBeijing, Jan 23 (IANS) China Monday welcomed its Lunar New Year or the Year of the Dragon with celebrations across the country.
The day marks the end of the winter in China. It is also celebrated as Spring Festival as it ushers in the spring season.
On this day, the Chinese, rich or poor, dine and celebrate together.
Villagers who were relocated to Zhengzhou, the capital of central Henan province due to a river water diversion project, had their festival feasts paid for by the government.
About 330,000 people were re-settled in different areas due to the project, which aims to bring water to drought-prone northern regions, including Beijing.
In Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, sanitation workers who chose to stay on duty rather than be with their families during the festival ended up dining with the mayor.
“I’d like to thank you for a year’s hard work that has kept the city beautiful,” said Tang Liangzhi, mayor of Wuhan, at a banquet for street cleaners, China Daily reported.
The Spring Festival is an important occasion for family reunions in China. This year the spring holidays started Jan 8 and is expected to continue till the mid-week of February.
On Sunday, people bid goodbye to the Year of the Rabbit, final day of the last lunar year.
Chinese President Hu Jintao joined groups of Beijing residents to celebrate the new year festivities. He visited the city’s Qianmen shopping street and waved at passersby who responded with jubilation, repots Xinhua.
The street was rebuilt for the 2008 Olympic Games as a sightseeing and shopping destination. Hu’s tour of the city also took him to a 270-year-old store famous for braised pork. He praised the quality of the products there.
The railways ministry said Monday that over 80 million people travelled by trains in the country between Jan 8 and 22 on account of the new year.
The figure was up by nearly 8 percent compared to the corresponding period last year.
The ministry added 289 more trains to accommodate passengers returning home for the festival.
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- Chinese trains carry 80 mn people in 14 days - Jan 23, 2012
- Millions of Chinese start spring homecoming - Jan 09, 2012
- Beijing post offices sell train tickets - Jan 16, 2012
- Spring holidays bring travel boom in China - Jan 29, 2012
- China to add 14,000 flights for festival rush - Jan 09, 2012
- Chinese youths hire dates to please parents (Lead) - Jan 28, 2012
- Chinese youth hire dates to please parents - Jan 28, 2012
- Spring gala for overseas Chinese - Jan 13, 2012
- China lets prisoners go home for New Year - Jan 18, 2012
- Fog disrupts flights in China - Jan 31, 2012
- New Year fireworks set off 5,945 blazes in China - Feb 07, 2011
- Dining room blast kills five in China - Jan 23, 2012
- Firecrackers create tonnes of waste in Beijing - Jan 29, 2012
- 92,000 displaced people resettled in China - Dec 20, 2011
Tags: 2008 olympic games, beijing residents, capital of hubei province, china daily, chinese president hu jintao, family reunions, henan province, hu jintao, lunar new year, lunar year, president hu jintao, qianmen, sanitation workers, spring festival, spring holidays, sunday people, water diversion, winter in china, year of the dragon, year of the rabbit