Jianshui was once known for its role in the tea and horse trade, it was a major city along the route between Vietnam, the Dai kingdom of Xishuangbanna and the edge of the Chinese empire. The town has a wonderful Confucius temple and classical garden. It is a great place to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
The Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, is the most important holiday in China. It lasts 15 days, and it commences on the first day of the first month in the lunar calendar. This is a time of family reunions; for many migrant workers this is the only time of the year that they see their parents, spouse, and child (in many of the places I’ve traveled the children are raised by the grandparents as the parents work in urban centers and send money home). It is common for families to make dumplings (饺子), and for older family member to give their offspring gifts, especially red envelopes with cash. For the new year families put red couplets on their doorways to welcome the benevolent spirits, while firecrackers are set off to ward off the malevolent ones.
2011 is the year of the rabbit (兔). There are twelve animal signs in the Chinese zodiac, and it is common to ask someone their sign here – especially when matchmaking. The story for the order of the animals involves a fight among these twelve animals, and it was decided that a race would settle the dispute. The ox was the lead in the race, but the rat was riding on his back and jumped off to win the race at the last minute. Therefore the rat is the first year of the cycle while the ox is the second. And as the pig finished the race last, it is the capstone for the rotation.
Jianshui was awash with venders selling fireworks for the holiday; sticks of dynamite a foot long, rolls of firecrackers three feet in diameter, and bottle rockets galore. As the night set in we took to the streets, the sound of firecrackers saturated the night. It sounded as if a war was underway, people would drive by and throw fireworks out of their cars onto the streets. The police eventually came to us and told us to go to our hotel as midnight approached, as they wanted to ensure that no foreigners were harmed. As I made my way back to the hotel other students were outside, and a patrol car was sitting a few meters down the road – to make sure we were safe.
As midnight struck and the New Year was ushered in, a deafening roar overtook the city. A plume of smoke hung over the city, it was an amazing experience. I was unable to sleep well that night, as the fireworks were unending.
Of course, as The Beijing Center explicitly forbade the use of fireworks none of the students partook in that aspect of the holiday. They have good cause to issue such a commandment, as every year the emergency rooms of Chinese hospitals become overwhelmed with injuries resulting from shoddy fireworks…
