Last Monday, Feb. 8, billions of Chinese celebrated this year’s Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, according to a report by the Global Times. North to south, rich or poor, every Chinese celebrated the time-honored tradition.
Despite living in an impoverished area in Guizhou Province, southwest China, Liu Chao and his wife prepared a total of 18 dishes for the Spring Festival.
The couple prepared home-made smoked pork, ham sausage and pickles. They also farmed some of the vegetables they planted themselves. Also included in the spread are fruits, soda and candies.
For once, Liu's children weren't scolded for sneaking some food off the table before the dinner began.
"As life is getting better, dishes are richer than before," shared Luo Yanhong, Liu's wife, in an interview with the Global Times.
Meanwhile, in Shanghai, Chang Xiaolu and his family finished their dinner and prepared for a trip to Hainan Province in south China.
"The climate there is warm and pleasant, especially suited for my aged parents," said Chang. They left Shanghai for Hainan Province on Tuesday, Feb. 9.
Up north, in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, regional tourism officials as well as self-driving travelers have flocked together to celebrate the New Year in the cold region.
The local tourism bureau organized an array of events and activities, including prairie customs performances, winter sports, and visits to the hot spring for city dwellers looking for a getaway.
The handing of gift money, another popular Spring Festival practice, was also done by a lot of Chinese families. Internet giants Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent took advantage of the holiday to give away over 1 billion yuan of gift money as a marketing ploy for people to join their mobile payment service.
But areas like Qingcheng Township in Shandong Province, where smartphones are not prevalent, opted to celebrate through galas they organized themselves.
It was also a happy Spring Festival for those in Qishan Village, Sichuan Province. The local government invested a total of 550 million yuan in 2015 to build new homes for 8,297 families. These homes were finished just in time for the Spring Festival.
"A new house and brand new furniture, I have dreamed about it all my life and now it has come true," said Chen Mingquan, a 70-year-old local.