Chinese New Year is almost here!
And this year it’s the Year of the Dragon. Many Chinese will get married this year, pregnant mothers are trying to “delay” birth so that they have a dragon baby and special events will be scheduled this year.
What you can expect over Chinese New Year
- Fireworks being sold everywhere
- Large containers of everything from eggs, to oranges and chocolate being sold (people give these away, keep them for when their family visit, etc.)
- TONS of people at the supermarket “stocking up” before stores close
- People getting very excited to go to their “home-towns”
- A bit of a craze at the train station and a shortage of train tickets
- Chinese lanterns being hung everywhere
- Chinese families will begin to clean their houses based on the superstition that they are clearing away the old spirits.
- You can find red envelopes very easily (and everywhere). If you are good friends with a Chinese family, it’s expected that you give their baby or child money inside of the envelope. I think a standard amount is usually around 100 RMB.
What I never expected
- The fireworks last for about 2 weeks (24 hours a day)
- The car alarms are also quite loud
- China mobile closes and you don’t want to be stuck without phone credit
- The veggie markets are closed (so stock up on your veg and fruit)
- If your local corner shop is open, most likely their prices will increase during this time.
- People will be wearing beautiful new clothes. I was in my regular attire:)
- The fireworks boxes are amazing. You need to watch them being set off – it is quite a spectacle. People take turns lighting off their boxes and crowds stand by to watch.
- People don’t just buy A firework. I’ve seen that car boots are FILLED with boxes small and big.
- Things to stock up on: big bottles of water for your water dispenser, phone credit, food (although larger supermarkets ARE open during the day. They close earlier though) some fireworks, chocolate, etc.