tend to take a week-long break at this time. As most Chinese return to their family home, travel is very difficult.
SPRING(FEB–APR)
T
HIS IS THE TIMEof year when Chinese people try to settle old debts and make time to meet with friends and family members. The arrival of peach blossom is a signal of rejuvenation and the Spring Festival celebrates the start of the ancient cycle of plowing and sowing.1STLUNARMONTH Spring Festival (Chun Jie) The main festival – Chinese New Year (see pp42–3). Gifts and red envelopes filled with money are exchanged and new shoes and clothes worn.
Lantern Festival (Feb–Mar) Coinciding with a full moon, this festival marks the end of the fifteen-day New Year period. A great many lanterns bearing auspicious characters or in animal
shapes can be seen.
Yuanxiao (sticky rice balls) are eaten.
2NDLUNARMONTH Tibetan New Year Tibetan New Year is marked by the eating of “barley crumb”
food and an exchange of Tashi Delek blessings. It is followed by Monlam, the great prayer festival later in the month, and the butter lamp festival.
Hong Kong Arts Festival (Feb/Mar) A major international arts festival as well as the premier arts event in Hong Kong. A mix of overseas and local artists provide music, theater, dance, popular entertainment, film and exhibition programs over three or four weeks.
International Women’s Day (Mar 8) Women have a half or even a whole day’s holiday, while men continue to work.
3RDLUNARMONTH Tree-planting Day (Apr 1) Promoted since the late 1970s by the reformist government, but not an official holiday, this is part of a greening campaign.
Weifang International Kite Festival (Apr) Flying kites is part of Qingming
celebrations. Over 1,000 contestants compete at this festival in Shandong.
Water Sprinkling Festival (mid-Apr) Exclusive to the Dai people (Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, see p383). Marks the Dai lunar New Year, and involves blessing others by sprinkling or splashing them with water, which represents the quelling of the flames of a mythical tyrant demon.
Colorful parade celebrating Chinese New Year
A highly elaborate Tibetan butter sculpture
A red lantern – lucky symbol
SUMMER(MAY–JUL)
O
NCE THE SUMMERarrives, festivals are often held outdoors. May sees the start of the traveling season as many people go on trips around the country to see family and friends.4THLUNARMONTH International Labor Day (May 1) A week-long holiday around May Day during which travel can be difficult.
Youth Day (May 4) Commemorates the student movements of 1919, which sparked the evolution of modern China.
Buddha’s Birthday An important religious festival in Qing Ming Festival, sweeping or tending the ancestors’ graves
Dragon Boat Festival – colorful, lively, and exciting to watch
Tibet but not officially observed in the PRC, though Buddhists may now do so privately. The festival has a higher profile in Hong Kong, where it is also known as the Festival of the Ten Thousand Buddhas. Buddhists pray for the washing away of sin and the attainment of wisdom and peace.
“Meet in Beijing” Festival (May) International music and arts festival, including opera, dance, instrumental and vocal concerts.
5THLUNARMONTH Children’s Day (Jun 1) Cinemas and other places of entertainment are free to children, who are also showered with presents.
Dragon Boat Festival (or Fifth Moon Festival) (Jun) commemorates the patriotic poet Qu Yuan who drowned himself. Originally religious but now just fun. Teams of rowers compete in long, decorated boats. Rice cakes (zongzi) are eaten. Hong Kong has several very colorful events, one with international teams.
Shanghai International Film Festival (Jun) First held in October 1993, this is the only accredited A Category international film festival in mainland China.
Qing Ming Festival (Apr) Festival for sweeping the graves and honoring the dead. Food is left on the grave and families often take a picnic with them.
Hainan Coconut Festival (Apr) Only set up since 1992 and a showcase for the local coconut harvest.
Third Moon Fair (Apr) Dali area. This festival is exclusive to the Buddhist Bai minority in Yunnan. Events include fairs, horse-racing, singing, and dancing.
Tin Hau Festival (Apr–May) Celebrated in Hong Kong and coastal areas such as Fujian, the birthday of the Heavenly Queen or Mazu (see p149), who looks after those at sea, is important for fishermen and sailors.
AUTUMN(AUG–OCT)
T
HE WEATHER MAYstill be warm in the sub-tropical south, but in the high uplands and central areas it is cooling down. As the leaves turn golden, this is a popular time of the year to travel to festivals.7THLUNARMONTH Army Day (Aug 1) Marks the first Communist uprising against the Nationalists in 1927. The theme is unity between the army and the people.
Lovers’ Festival (Aug) A romantic day, this celebrates the story of the earthly cowherd and celestial weaving girl who were separated by the gods but who are annually reunited in the heavens by a bridge of magpies on the seventh day of the seventh moon. It is also known as Seven Sisters Festival.
Shoton (Yoghurt festival) (Aug/Sep) Tibetan festival of opera. Takes its name from the yoghurt served by pilgrims to the monks.
Nadaam Fair (Aug) (Inner
Mongolia) Held in Hohhot, Qingdao International Beer Festival dancers Nadaam Fair, Mongolian sports festival and fair
Bayanbulak and elsewhere, Inner Mongolia. Horse-racing, wrestling and archery.
Women wear their traditional dress. It’s also a trading fair.
Nakchu Horse Race Festival (Tibet) (Aug) The most important folk festival in Tibet.
This takes place in Nakchu. Over a thousand herdsmen then compete in the traditional Tibetan sports of archery horse-racing, and general horsemanship.
Zhongyuan (Hungry Ghost Festival) Similar to Halloween, a traditional festival combining elements of ancestor worship and Buddhism, suppressed under Communism. Considered an inauspicious time to move house or marry.
Qingdao International Beer Festival (Aug) Held in the eastern port city of Qingdao, Shandong, home of Tsingtao Beer, brewed from the spring waters of nearby Lao Shan (see p146).
8THLUNARMONTH Teachers’ Day (Sep 1) Not an established holiday, but it began in the 1980s in response to the anti-intellectualism of the Cultural Revolution.
Mid-Autumn Festival or Zhong Qiu (Sep) Harvest or moon festival when moon cakes are eaten throughout the country and family reunions take place (see p43).
Shaolin International Martial Arts Festival (Sep) Annual event since 1991 in
the city of Zhengzhou.
Confucius’
Birthday (Sep 28) Gradually regaining popularity in the PRC, after vilification of the sage (born
in 551BC) under the Communist regime. The day is celebrated at the Confucian temples in Qufu, Beijing and elsewhere.
International Fashion Festival (mid-Sep) Dalian.
Two weeks of fashion shows by Asian designers, with a spectacular opening parade.
6THLUNARMONTH Founding of Chinese Communist Party (Jul 1) A day to mark the event that took place in 1921 in Shanghai.
Mid-Autumn festival dragon
National day, well-drilled troops on the march
WINTER(NOV–JAN)
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HIS SEASON BRINGSa drop in temperatures and relief from the humidity in the south, while central and northern regions usually experience bitter winters. The main traveling season is over but everyone enjoys the lengthy preparations for the Chinese New Year at home.10THLUNARMONTH Zhuang Song Festival (Nov) The Zhuang minority in Guangxi have their own distinctive folk-song and dance tradition. Since 1999
an International Folk Song and Arts Festival has been held in Nanning.
11THLUNARMONTH Winter Solstice Chinese astronomers identified this day as early as the Han period. Historically, it has been an important festival, though less so now. In the north, people often eat dumpling soup or dumplings on this day to keep them warm. In the south, people may eat red-bean and sticky rice to drive away evil spirits.
Christmas Day (Dec 25) Although only a tiny number of the population is Christian, the commercial side of this celebration has taken off with Christmas trees and Shengdan Laoren, a Chinese version of Father Christmas, seen as a popular image. It’s a public holiday in Hong Kong.
12THLUNARMONTH Corban Festival (Dec/Jan) Celebrated in Xinjiang, Ningxia, and among Hui people across China, this is a Muslim festival remembering Abraham’s last-minute reprieve to sacrifice a goat instead of his son. Animals are slaughtered for a feast, with singing and dancing.
New Year’s Day (Jan 1) Overshadowed by the massive Chinese New Year celebrations that take place later in January or February, but it is still a recognized public holiday.
9THLUNARMONTH National Day (Oct 1) A great rush of holiday-making takes place during this week-long break. Parades celebrate the founding of the PRC in 1949.
Double-ninth (Chongyang) Festival (Oct) Double nine signifies double yang (in the yin-yang duality), connected with male assertiveness and strength. Traditionally, people do symbolic things like climb to high places, carry a sprig of dogwood, and drink chrysanthemum wine to drive away evil spirits at this festival, though it’s not observed everywhere.
PUBLICHOLIDAYS New Year’s Day (Jan 1) Chinese New Year or Spring Festival Jan 28–30 (2006); February 8–10 (2007) International Labor Day (May 1–3) National Day (Oct 1–3)
Weekend Shifting The weekends (Sat, Sun) before and after the May and October holidays are often shifted from year to year toward the 3-day block to allow for a continuous run of 7 days’
holiday. To add to the confusion for visitors, the exact days of the holiday are usually not finalized until shortly beforehand.
You may wish to avoid traveling during this period because many facilities are closed and domestic travel can be very difficult. It is best to try and confirm the exact dates with a travel agent beforehand.
Lhasa Chengdu