Chinese New Year was February 7. I went to Shanghai for a week to see my family, and it was really the first time since I left for the US that I started to get to know my extended family better, and my first time in 20 years to see a Chinese New Year.
Chinese New Years is the equivalent of Christmas for westerners. It is firecrackers, fireworks, food and family. Most Chinese people don't use this time to go on vacation. Rather, they stay at home with their families and share some of the most amazing food I've ever eaten. It is the busiest time of the year for all the restaurants, stores, fruit and flower shops, etc.
For New Years Eve, I went to a restaurant with my Dad's side of the family, where they'd booked a table 3 months in advance. For the next 6 days after, I did nothing but eat - breakfast, lunch, dinner, and whatever else was forced upon me by my family. My uncle on the fouth day after the new year, prepared maybe 30 dishes for 8 people, and we simply sat and ate all day.
By tradition, on New Year's Eve, you eat "nian fan" or dinner for the new year. You spend the first few days visiting your family. On the fourth day after New Year, people go out and visit friends and neighbors, or walk the streets. Here are some pictures of "Qi Bao Lao Jie" or Seven Treasure old street, an old traditional street in Shanghai where they sell Shanghainese delicacies and treats, on the fourth day after the New Year. Enjoy!
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