Chinese New Year 2017 - Year of the Rooster

New Year and old rules – things to do and not to do during the Chinese New Year

 

Last year we celebrated the Chinese New Year on the 8th February and this year we are going to celebrate it on the 28th  January! Why does it fall on a completely different date?

The reason is that the Chinese follow the lunar calendar and New Year is on the first new moon of the year which in 2017 is the 28th January.

The Chinese zodiac has 12-year cycles, each “characterised” by a certain animal, and this year will be the turn of the Rooster. Furthermore, the Chinese believe that each zodiac year correlates with one of five elements: Gold, Wood, Water, Fire or Earth.  If you are good with mathematics you can calculate that for example the Fire Rooster comes once every 60 years!

Some people, including me, are confused why Chinese New Year is referred to as the Spring Festival. It’s nothing to do with spring if you celebrate it in the first and coldest month of the year – January!  But then the Chinese believe the end of coldest part of the year is behind them and they can start looking forward to the beginning of spring.  I think this view comes from the villages when impatient farmers couldn’t wait to get back in their fields and start working on their crops.  Celebrating the Spring Festival in January gives them encouragement and hope that the long, cold winter days are drawing to an end.

The end of the Chinese New Year is marked by the Lantern Festival which is 14 days from the Chinese New Year itself and so this year will fall on the 11th February 2017. This day in China is equivalent to Valentine’s Day too.

The Chinese are very superstitious and here are a few things you should not do during Chinese New Year:

• Do not wash your hair or clothes – you may wash away good luck
• Do not eat porridge as it may bring poverty
• Do not take any medications or visit hospitals – it my bring ill health throughout the year
• The rice jar must be full to symbolise prosperity
• Do not wear black or white as these colours represent mortality
• Do not steal, borrow money or kill

Instead of all the above you should do the following:

• Give red envelopes filled with money, but avoid amounts such as 40 yuan or 400 yuan.The number ‘4’ in Chinese sounds like ‘death’.
• If possible put crisp, new banknotes inside. Giving creased banknotes is in bad taste.
• Eat fish, dumplings, rice cakes for wealth and prosperity, and don’t forget to eat Longevity noodles!
• Hang red lanterns todrive away bad luck.
• Paste slogans on your door such as Best Wishes for the Coming Year
• See the old year out and the new one in by setting off firecrackers. The tradition is to set off small ones first to see the old year out then the big ones for the new year – the louder the noise the better the year will be.

And the list could go on and on…. But if you forget one of “do’s” and “dont’s” don’t worry!

Xin Nian Kuai Le! (pronounced ‘sheen nian kwai luh’)

Chinese New Year in London




  We went through Christmas here, then New Year here and there with a time difference of one hour, then Christmas there, the one called Orthodox, and now to round the celebrations off we will finish it with Chinese New Year, here in the UK. If you can’t celebrate it in China the best place to experience Chinese New Year is in London and I do apologise to all people in Singapore, Toronto, Sydney who claim their celebration of Chinese New Year is the best. It is not!

My friend, Jenny Chen, a girl from Beijing, is excited as she is flying home on Friday to spend the holidays with her elderly parents who she hasn’t seen for the last two years. She is in a shopping mood and austerity measures brought on by Mr Osborne don’t apply during Chinese New Year. And why should they? I never thought about spending less on my parents when I was getting them a present for Christmas. And with my background they get two presents for the two Christmasses as well! Jenny’s credit card is redder then the lantern in our office that she put up to mark her contribution to the celebration of the Chinese New Year in London. She is sorry that she is not going to be here but also happy at the prospect of seeing her parents.

This year celebrations in London are the biggest since they began in London. Apart from celebrations at Trafalgar and Leicester Squares, where colorful Chinese dragons, lions and acrobats will dance followed by loud music, you can mark the Chinese New Year at different establishments around London.

The Victoria and Albert Museum set the exhibition of Imperial Chinese Robes to coincide with Chinese New Year in London. Among the many garments on show are gowns designed for everyday life as well as rituals, banquets, travelling, hunting and official royal visits. The Imperial Chinese Robes exhibition takes place from 10am – 6pm, Tuesday 7th December 2010 – Sunday 27th February 2011 at Victoria and Albert Museum. Tickets are £5.00 or £3.00 concessions. For more information please click here.

You can celebrate Chinese New Year at the National Maritime Museum with a spectacular evening of stargazing which takes place from 5.25pm, on Saturday 12th February 2011. Tickets cost £16.00 per person. For more information and to book tickets, click on the link below. For more information please click here.

The Wallace Collection contributed to the celebration of the Chinese New Year by arranging a special silk painting workshop hosted by artist Caroline Dorset.

The silk painting workshop for Chinese New Year at the Wallace Collection runs from 11am – 4pm, Saturday 5th February 2011. Tickets cost £25.00. For more information and to book tickets, call the gallery on 0207 563 9500 0207 563 9500. Fo rmore information please click here.

Find out more about Chinese culture through arts and craft activities as part of the Chinese New Year at the Museum in Docklands celebrations which will take place on the 5th and 6th February 2011. For daily activities please click here. The Grand finale to end the Chinese New Year London celebrations will take place at Leicester Square with a huge (and free!) fireworks display.

Gong Xi Fa Cai

恭禧發財

For Private Day Trips to China email Tara@ReadyClickAndGo.com  or check our website at http://www.ReadyClickAndGo.com/

The best place to see Giant Pandas in China

Since the earthquake in Sichuan Province there are two good places to see pandas – one in the Panda Research Centre in Chengdu itself and one in Ya’an Bifengxia Panda Base. Wolong centre was destroyed by the earthquake and by sheer luck only the pandas survived and they’ve been transferred around Chengdu. Some of them are "rented" to zoos around the world.
Ya’an Bifengxia Panda Base is located in Bifengxia Town, Ya’an City of south-west Sichuan Province. The distance from Chengdu to Ya’an Panda Base is 140km and takes around 2 hours drive to get there. The drive is very scenic, through forest, waterfalls, river and breathtaking landscapes. The mountain weather is changeable, so wear layers for warmth and rain protection. Wear comfortable/waterproof walking shoes. It can rain anytime of the year, particularly June, July, and August (also sunnier during this period) and snow is most prevalent from November through to March. Although there are more Pandas here, you’ll get to see Pandas more in their natural habitant, than in the Panda Research Centre in Chengdu . You can spend around at least 1.5hrs here - subject to conditions you can have your picture taken with a baby Panda for 1,000 RMB (approx £100) . Also you can do some voluntary work which includes feeding pandas, cleaning the enclosure, monitoring their habits but you have to be in extra good health as the forms which you need to fill in ask for very personal information such as: "Do you have mental issues?" Within the park there is the Ya'an Wild Animal Zoo where you can see golden monkeys, tigers, hawks and so on.
Afterward, take a short drive to see Shangli Ancient Town - situated along the river it’s easy to walk around by yourself. Its very interesting for tourists as it looks like an old traditional Chinese town still unspoiled by the mass market. Within the town you can see traditional shops selling homemade Rice Wine, Foods, Handicrafts etc. I found very nice antiques for a very good price and even if it's fake it does look good on my window sill! The Panda Research Centre in Chengdu is located almost in the city centre, but its much more professionally run and controlled. I had a feeling that the Pandas are in a more sombre mood here and in very limited enclosures. But in this centre you would be able to see Red Pandas which you can't in the Ya’an Centre. For those of you staying few nights in Chengdu I would suggest that you go to see the pandas at the Ya’an Bifengxia Panda Base. For those with less time I would suggest you visit the Pandas in the Research Base in the city center of Chengdu. If you haven’t got either the time or the money to go to Chengdu then go to a zoo in China but please be prepared. The Panda enclosures may look very clean, big and well-kept but in order to get to the Panda enclosure you have to pass Siberian tigers and see live chickens thrown to them. Or pass dirty and unkempt monkey cages. By the time you get to see the Pandas you feel a bit sick.
For more information please email Tara@ReadyClickAndo.com or check our website at www.ReadyClickAndGo.com

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