chinese new year's eve

Zhang Sheng, one of my colleagues at work, invited us to his house for Chinese New Year. We left Beijing at 2:15, and arrived in Tianjin at about 3:30, via the nicest train I've ever ridden in China. Not only was there a ton of leg room (my long, long, incredibly long, legs demand it), there was also the wings that you can lean your head on when you pass out. It was great.

Tianjin was nice, too. Comparable population wise to Beijing, it seemed much more open. Zhang Sheng's family was incredibly nice, and we ate the entire time we were there. First it was peanuts and candy, then oranges. Then it was dinner time with about 15 courses. Tianjin is near the ocean, and known for it's seafood. The fish, whole deep fried squid, and oysters were all delicious. The pork was great too. Zhang Sheng's father is a wonderful cook, and his family wants him to move to the States and open a restaurant. Possibilities lie all around.

We ate all we could, the retired to the guest room to play some Monopoly. It was great. I would have won too, if we had not been called to "bao jiaozi" or make dumplings. Dumplings are the traditional food you eat at midnight of the lunar new year. We made a ton, and didn't think much of it.

We then went outside at midnight. The block was a warzone. I've heard multiple reports of people from war torn countries (Israel, Iraq) who leave the country for this holiday season. (Right now, there are explosions outside my window.) It is nonstop for a week before and a week after, but at this time it seemed to come to a head. Everyone was outside lighting strings of firecrackers and bottle rockets. Zhang Sheng's father had a string of m-80's he lit.

The noise the firecrackers make are supposed to scare the ghosts away, and therefore bring good luck, at least as I understand it. GD...these people must be lucky. It was cool though, and when we headed back inside, we all smelled of gunpowder. Which made me feel badass (I mean, more than usual).

By the time we were back inside, the dumplings had been boiled and set out. We ate a few plates, and then Zhang Sheng's family stopped. That left the Laowais. Known for my ability to eat under the eyes of someone who wants me to eat, I was a champ. I told Zhang Sheng's mother that I couldn't eat any more, her children couldn't eat anymore. She responded, "They are not polite. You are polite. Keep eating!" And so I picked up my chopsticks. I think I stopped around 75.

At that point, I was pretty tuckered out. We passed out, only to wake up 4 hours later to catch our train back to the city. I mean, the other city.

It was short, but great. Last Chinese New Year's Eve, I was by myself in Guilin, watching large families through plate glass windows eating massive amounts of food. It was nice to be inside.

quirkiest part of the bj subway

I see this every day on my way to work. It cracks me up. Everybody sees what I'm talking about, right? (click to enlarge)

new year's at the people's congress

I may not have guanxi (relationships/influence), but I know people who do. That's why I was invited to Chinese New Year celebration at the People's Congress Hall off of Tiananmen Square.

It was amazing.

This part of the year is the only time that the building is open to the public. It is a grand place. I'm sure I just saw a small portion of it, but it was mostly giant hallways with marble columns and floors.

Inside, there were a variety of things to do. In the main lobby, when you come in the door, there were two bouncy castles setup. The kids were in the lobby of the main legislative building of the CPC, jumping up and down to their hearts content. You could play ping pong against people I imagine were on the national team, and use an exercise bike to power video games as you played them.

There were puppet shows and comedians, and on the main stage, in a giant hall with 3 balconies, there were famous people singing folk songs. It's interesting to see such a focus on culture. I feel like there is no way that people would go to see folk songs sung in the States. I imagine...who is it nowadays?...[insert popstar here] singing Yankee Doodle Dandy to a crowd of thousands. I guess it's the depth of culture, but it's fairly impressive.

While people sang on stage, the audience, as usual, babbled like a brook. You could still hear the music, but I was surprised when a man sitting next to me asked to be quiet, as he couldn't hear the singing. I will easily grant I can be a bit loud at points, but we were in an auditorium with three thousand other people talking. Give me a break. Needless to say, however, I spoke much more quietly.

At the end of the night, I was excited to get back home. This working stuff is hard.