Sign 1: The town is literally “painted red”

Most of the decorations during the festival are in red, since it is the lucky colour in Chinese tradition. These include the Chinese couplets, red packets, fireworks as well as the clothes that people wear.

Sign 2: Meeting smile faces everywhere
On the New Year day, there are usually more smiling faces than usual. One reason is that many people are having their longest holiday in a year. Another reason is to show politeness to people who may be giving out red packets.

Sign 3: Meeting guys who have not shaved

These days, some young male like to leave their face unshaved to look more masculine. On the New Year Day, however, men refrain from shaving for the sake of luck. In fact, apart from not shaving, people also refrain from having a shower for a similar reason.

Sign 4: Deserted streets

While streets are packed and barely passable before New Year comes, many of them are deserted on the New Year day. If you are planning to go shopping on the New Year Day, the only choices are the grand malls. Many small to medium boutiques and stores do not resume services until the third day of the Chinese New Year.

Sign 5: Cars lining on the roadside

On the New Year day, there are always long lines of cars on the roadside. Many drivers violate the road laws by parking in the street for the convenience of visiting their friends and family nearby. The Police tend to be less stringent with the rules of the New Year day.

Sign 6: Long queues outside cinemas
What else can people do on the New Year day when shops are closed? Many people would opt for a comedy in the cinema. Make sure you reserve your cinema ticket before the New Year day arrives!

People who live abroad or in a different province (for work or studies) typically return home early to be with the family on the eve of the Lunar new year and partake in the traditional reunion dinner.

As the number of China’s migrant workers grew, a new Spring Festival practice emerged, known as Chunyun or ‘Spring Festival travel’. Hailed as the largest annual human migration in the world, the country’s transportation system experiences tremendous pressure to accommodate the massive traffic flow.

Railway travel is a common mode of transport but many face difficulties in buying train tickets because tickets get sold out fast. Those who cannot afford to travel by plane have to wait until New Year’s Eve, or even the first day of new year, to board their train home.

Eric Liao, an advertising executive who works in Beijing, had planned to visit his family in the Guang Dong Province this year. However, he failed to buy his train ticket in advance, resulting in a journey home on New Year’s eve itself.

The soundslide below is a photo-diary of his 12 hours on the train:

Shenzhen is a bustling city with one of the largest migrant population in China. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, many people were seen queuing at the city’s railway station to buy train tickets. Despite the cold weather, children and adults alike were in high sprits.

Venturing further into the city, the streets were nearly empty with the exception of one or two taxis. Shops were closed and no one strolled on the pavements.

Over at Hong Kong International Airport, observers noted that the terminal was less bustling than usual during mid-day. However, a press statement from a spokesperson for Dragonair said that Chinese New Year is traditionally a peak season for the carriage, with travelers from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan making up the majority of their passengers.

CHINESE NEW YEAR COMEDIES

The credits to "All's Well, Ends Well 2012" in a movie theater in Hong Hom

The Li family watches the annual Chinese New Year comedy in the theaters every year, along with millions of other people in the city. These popular movies are a unique genre for the Lunar New Year holidays because they consist of  famous  cast, crazy behavior and a guaranteed happy ending.

“People in Hong Kong like to watch these kinds of movies because they don’t need to think. For the New Year, it is better to watch a happy film where they just sit there, enjoy and laugh,” Twinko Li, the youngest daughter in the family, said.

This year, the Li family is watching the seventh annual installment of “All Well, Ends Well.” The first installment of this movie series goes back to 1992.

“This year’s installment was a lot better than last year,” Li said. She have been going to the movies to watch Chinese New Year comedies with her parents for over five years and said that it is a tradition she plans to keep.

THE OPEN YEAR MEAL

Another Lunar New Year tradition is the “open year meal.” The open year meal symbolizes the first meal of the New Year to bring the entire family together. Twinko visited her grandmother’s place with her parents to reunite with aunts and uncles bearing gifts. Her grandmother had just spent the previous two days preparing the family’s favorite food and soup.

Twinko with her red pockets

“There is always barely any food left by the end of the meal,” Twinko said.

But her favorite part of the annual open year meal is what comes before the meal: receiving red pocket money. This is a major part of Lunar New Year because it symbolizes good luck for the upcoming year.

“Kung hei fat choy!” she said as her aunt used both hands to hand Twinko a red pocket, “I hope you are healthy and make a lot of money this year!” Children and unmarried adults are required to say something lucky before they can receive the red pocket.

“Since I am not married yet, I easily get more than two dozen red pockets each year that range from a single 20, 50 or 100 dollar bill from my family and colleagues,” she said.

When the meal is over, the entire Li family rushes to clean the table and dishes and set it aside to prepare for another Lunar New Year tradition in Hong Kong: playing mahjong!

Sponsored by Cathay Pacific Airways, the procession comprised of 35 flamboyant floats and dazzling performances by international troupes. The parade routed from the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza, through to Canton Road and Haiphong Road, Nathan Road and Salisbury Road.

In line with this year’s theme - World City, World Party - the parade featured St. Louis Rams cheerleaders, a sea bream float from Japan, giant human-butterflies from the Netherlands, a shaolin troupe from China, and dancers from Thailand, Korea, Russia and the United States.

Local martial arts associations performed the traditional lion dance, befitting of a grand welcome for the new dragon year.

Abhishek Gupta (second from left) with friends

Abhishek Gupta, a New Delhi native, says this is his first lunar new year celebration in the city.

“I’ve never seen this before. It’s absolutely marvellous. Shops are closed and we’re just here to enjoy.. have fun on the city’s streets,” he said.

The annual Cathay Pacific International Chinese New Year Night Parade is touted one of the best events in the world.

Watch snap-shots of the parade here:

Mr. Donoan Ng was packaging the flowers for sale. His son, on the right, was learning his skill

The rent had risen so much that the profit from lunar new year flower sale might turn out less than last year’s, according to Mr. Donoan Ng, a flower business owner in Siu Sai Wan, a small district on the eastern edge of the Hong Kong Island.

The Link Management Limited (in Chinese: 領滙), the property mangement firm and landlord of Siu Sai Wan Market as well as the district’ s major shopping mall, raised the rent of his new year flower vendor by twenty to thirty percent, he said. The rent was more than two thousand dollars per day, he added. Due to contractual confidientiality, he chose not to  reveal the exact price, but he remarked it preoccupied the operating cost.

Sourcing flowers for the annual lunar new year flower sale had also become more expensive than doing last year, so the cost turned out to have risen a lot, especially the cost of gladiolus, which had increased by a hundred percent due to the cold weather that ruined the harvest last month.

The price of the traditionally popular new year flower, gladiolus, soared drastically. Each gladiolus costs forty dollars. Therefore, many customers chose not to buy them.

‘As the cost, especially the rent, has increased so much, we are not optimistic about our business,’ he said. ‘ Although there should be some gains, it will not be greater than last year’s.’

‘We did not dare to raise the price value of other flowers except gladiolus, which the farmers said they have just lost more than 90% of the harvest in the cold.’ he added ’I fear the old customers may buy flowers in the other stores. In such an unpredictable economy, they tend to be more cautious on their spending.’

The Western flowers were relatively cheaper in comparison to gladiolus, so most customers purchased them. The popular ones were tulips, lilium,cineraria and flamingo flowers.

Mr. Ng has been running his flower retail business for more than 30 years. His main retail shop is in Chai Wan, but he has also opened and managed  a branch in Siu Sai Wan for about 12 years.

Mr. Ng's store: It is right at the entrance of the Siu Sai Wan Market, a property of the Link.

This interview took place on the second last day before the lunar new year arrived, so Mr. Ng did not have a determined estimate of the business performance.  In tradition, the new year flower sale runs during the last 4 days before the lunar new year. The popular flowersWith gratitude to Mr. Ng

lilium (In Chinese: 百合): It bears the meaning of forever love and devotion.

cineraria (In Chinese: 富貴菊) : It is a symbol of wealth.

flamingo flowers (In Chinese: 紅掌): It does not have a specific meaning about fortune in tradition, but since red is the lucky color in the Chinese New Year, people tend to buy them.