So it's the end of Spring Festival (Chinese New Year holiday) and how do the Chinese celebrate? With another festival! It's a celebration with lights, color, tangyuan and millions of people from all over the world! The Lantern Festival is an age old tradition surrounded by many legends. One legend states that a majestic crane flew down from heaven and was killed by hunters. Angering the Jade Emperor in heaven whom favored the crane, he swore to destroy the village with a storm of fire on the fifteenth lunar day. The Jade Emperor's daughter warned the villagers of her father's plan. The villagers despaired as they could not think of any way to stop his destruction. And then, a wise man from another village suggested that they hang lanterns around their houses, set up bonfires and shoot off fireworks on the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth days of the lunar calendar. On the fifteenth day, the Jade Emperor sent his troops down to destroy the village, but when they saw that it was already on fire, they returned to inform the emperor of their findings. This satisfied him and the villagers were spared. From that day on, people celebrate the fifteenth lunar day by carrying lanterns and shooting off fireworks.
Amazing story right? It made the sea of lanterns hung all around the buildings seem even brighter and more beautiful! All around the Yu Yuan Garden (豫园)area, there were hordes of people trying to go see the lanterns. From the subway to the streets, to the sidewalks, to the event itself. At one point, Yang and I got crammed into a swirling mass of people, unaware of why everyone had stopped walking. It turns out that guards had not opened the gates to one area and instead of simply standing and waiting or moving on to another area, people were slowly pushing and crowding each other towards the front. The whole situation was so absurd that I couldn't help but laugh so hard that I cried. Yang had mentioned to me earlier that I would feel the power of China. I think that feeling was definitely achieved.
Along with all the magnificent lanterns, there were shops selling lots of touristy items such as oriental looking fans, qi pao dresses, tea sets, jewelry and just about anything else you could possibly not need. Yang and I stopped in at one shop to look at calligraphy brushes and found out that these were shops you could bargain at! So bargain I did! A simple ink holder (not even a half an inch thick) had a price tag of 280 yuan. I ended up paying only 80 yuan. A picture of it is provided below. Later, we looked at some jade bracelets and the lady at the counter priced one of them to me at over 300 yuan. I refused to pay that much for fake jade and she asked me how much I would pay at the most and I said I didn't want to spend more than 150. She gave me an instant price reduction. I ended up not purchasing the bracelet, but I left, satisfied with my newly acquired negotiating skills.
So all in all, I had a great Lantern Festival and I hope all of you did too (whether you celebrate or not). Enjoy the pictures below and try not to feel too claustrophobic.
Amazing story right? It made the sea of lanterns hung all around the buildings seem even brighter and more beautiful! All around the Yu Yuan Garden (豫园)area, there were hordes of people trying to go see the lanterns. From the subway to the streets, to the sidewalks, to the event itself. At one point, Yang and I got crammed into a swirling mass of people, unaware of why everyone had stopped walking. It turns out that guards had not opened the gates to one area and instead of simply standing and waiting or moving on to another area, people were slowly pushing and crowding each other towards the front. The whole situation was so absurd that I couldn't help but laugh so hard that I cried. Yang had mentioned to me earlier that I would feel the power of China. I think that feeling was definitely achieved.
Along with all the magnificent lanterns, there were shops selling lots of touristy items such as oriental looking fans, qi pao dresses, tea sets, jewelry and just about anything else you could possibly not need. Yang and I stopped in at one shop to look at calligraphy brushes and found out that these were shops you could bargain at! So bargain I did! A simple ink holder (not even a half an inch thick) had a price tag of 280 yuan. I ended up paying only 80 yuan. A picture of it is provided below. Later, we looked at some jade bracelets and the lady at the counter priced one of them to me at over 300 yuan. I refused to pay that much for fake jade and she asked me how much I would pay at the most and I said I didn't want to spend more than 150. She gave me an instant price reduction. I ended up not purchasing the bracelet, but I left, satisfied with my newly acquired negotiating skills.
So all in all, I had a great Lantern Festival and I hope all of you did too (whether you celebrate or not). Enjoy the pictures below and try not to feel too claustrophobic.