Celebrations for Spring Festival in Shanghai(2)

The Shanghai Oriental Land

From January 22 to January 28, the Shanghai Oriental Land, a park on the shores of Dianshan Lake in Qingpu district, offers a range of events for adults and children to welcome the New Year. A cruise on the lake is essential but there will be folk displays in the square, clowns, dragon and lion dances and drummers galore.

You can get into the spirit of China even more by working for a bit on a local farm or orchard and picking your own vegetables and fruit and then enjoying a reasonably priced family dinner afterwards.

Address: 6888 Huqingping Highway

Admission: 50 yuan

Call 5923-3000 for details

Website: www.ogb.com.cn/newEbiz1/EbizPortalFG/portal/html/index.html

Heaven scent

Spring Festival is the time to enjoy the first of the plum blossoms as they open.

Traditionally plum blossoms are seen as a symbol of winter and a harbinger of spring. The blossoms are treasured because they look vivid especially against snow and they have a subtle gentle scent that can be appreciated even in the cold.

The plum blossoms symbolize perseverance and hope, beauty, purity and the transient nature of life.

In winter on Chaoshan Hill in Yuhang, a city in the north of Zhejiang Province, visitors can see thousands of plum blossoms beginning to bloom, turning the hill into a classic scene of beauty: "Ten miles of plum blossom fragrance all over a sea of snow" as the Qing Dynasty artist Wu Changshuo put it.

The blossoms on Chaoshan Hill are famed for their history, size and uniqueness and the hill features two of the five classical plums held in highest regard in China -- Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty plums.

Address: East Park, Chaoshan village, Tangqi town, Yuhang, Zhejiang Province

Admission: 45 yuan

Call 0571-8631-1228 for details

One last thrill

The Lantern Festival officially ends the Spring Festival and every year Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden celebrates the festival with a variety of performances, music, and naturally, lanterns.

At Yuyuan Garden visitors will find myriad lanterns, many especially designed in other cities in China and sent to the garden for the festival. Others use high-tech interiors to add something more than candle power to the festivities. This year entry will be limited to ticket holders - an admission price has yet to be set.

In Anting town in Jiading, where the auto industry is thriving, the festival will be celebrated in style. Visitors here might enjoy the traditional lantern riddles that are part of the festival or just have fun with the antics of the acrobats, puppets and dragon dancers.

Going local

Cities are not the best place to sample the New Year festivities. Many of the really interesting customs have been lost with modernization. But in smaller towns and villages you can still experience a traditional Lunar New Year.

Wuyuan in Jiangxi Province has been described as "China's most beautiful village." It has its own way of celebrating the New Year where it looks forward to honoring the "Kitchen God" during its celebrations.

Its big day is today, the xiao nian (Little New Year). Yesterday villagers were busy slaughtering pigs and making a special soup from pig's blood as well as other traditional dishes.

Wander around the streets and friendly villagers could well offer you some tasty treats like fried meat balls, fish balls or sweet potato balls to sample.

When xiao nian dawns, every household pays respect to the Kitchen God and the village women clean and dust their houses in a ritual called sao chen.

The actual New Year's Eve dinner in Wuyuan has another name "The Farewell Feast" where traditional dishes are served - steamed pork with rice flour, braised fish in brown sauce, pigs' trotters, chickens and ducks. The most famous Wuyuan dishes are vegetable pasties and steamed meat. Another Wuyuan specialty is their fish which villagers raise in a pond kept at a constant 20 C temperature. Visitors can book and join the feast for 180 yuan.

Getting there: The Shanghai South Long-Distance Bus Station at 36 Liuzhou Road offers eight buses a day from 7:43 am to 7:03 pm; or go by train to Nanchang station, and then catch a bus to Wuyuan.

Call 0793-734-3605 for details

Website: www.wylyw.cn