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Chinese New Year

Beijing, 12th February

The red lanterns (hong2 deng1 long2 - red light baskets) and decorations are now up in every shop window and outside every house and look great. This signifies the coming of the Chinese New Year and the 'Year of the Pig'. Red, of course is a lucky colour in China, and symbolizes wealth and fortune. In fact, even the highest note in Chinese currency – the 100RMB bill, is red.Much like Christmas in the West, Chinese New Year is a time for people to be with families. And the hordes of people travelling around at this time are taking long trips back to their hometowns (lao3 jia1 – translates as ‘old home’) to spend time with loved ones. So actually during this time, Beijing is not as busy as usual.

Family celebration

Chinese New Year in Beijing has not been what I expected it to be. As a kid I used to watch Chinese New Year celebrations on TV and I would always see crowds of people in the streets watching the Dragon dance. But in reality, in Beijing, it has never actually been like this. In fact, the streets are quite deserted and most people stay home with families.

Fireworks

What I didn’t expect, however, were the fireworks. For a full week, the evenings are lit up with fireworks and huge explosions go off continuously. To the uninformed it could sound like a war-zone! People buy fireworks and set them off everywhere. There is pretty much free reign and the fireworks they have here are much more powerful and spectacular than the ones I’m used to in the UK. Last year a 12 year ban on fireworks in Beijing was lifted by the government so they've gone to town this year!

Getting older, getting married?

This week I will also be celebrating my 32nd birthday. And, of course, when I tell people how old I’m going to be, the first question is always ni3 jie2 hun le ma? - Are you married yet? I am told that in Chinese thinking, a man in his 30s is at his best and it's the best age for a man to get married. There is a Chinese expression, san1 shi2 er2 li4 which translates as 30 years, mature and independent.As you would expect, this makes for some interesting conversations at work. As my excuse jie4 kou3, I always try to say that in the west it’s common for a man to be well into his 30s and still unmarried but I am usually forced to promise my co-workers that I will aim to get married by 35 years old!

Serious business

Actually, marriage is a serious business in my workplace. Since I have been working at this company, seven women (all aged in their mid 20s) have been married. That is seven staff members in less than 12 months and the office only has 40 staff! I have worked in England for over six years, in all that time and in all the companies I've worked for, I think I can only remember two cases of colleagues getting married!In fact, over the Chinese New year, there will be two of my colleagues celebrating their weddings. This seems to put a great deal of pressure on women in their mid-20s. And there is always a chorus of envious sighs and ooohs and ahhhs whenever yet another colleague sends an email round announcing they will tie the knot! There is certainly little of the cynicism about marriage that I or many of my friends from back in London have. It’s refreshing to be sure, but I must admit – something about it all scares the hell out of me!

Editor's note: Chris is writing Chinese words in 'Pinyin', Latin script, using numbers that indicate the tone of the word. Find out more with our course Real Chinese.

Sent by: Chris

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