Luckily COVID is in the past and as we could not travel outside China, we got to experience Chinese New Year first hand.
This year is the year of the Ox. The Ox is known for his endurance and consistency.
Chinese New Year is not just a day, such as New Year’s Eve in the west. It is a time period of over one month, in which the new year is celebrated.
It starts with the decoration of every entrance door with „good luck charms“ so there will be a lot of good luck in the new year. Thanks to my wife’s Chinese teacher Amanda, we got the chance to write the signs by ourself.
We did this in a typical Chinese tea house in Dalian downtown, where we also experienced a original tea ceremony. We also learned how to play „Chinese chess“ which is now one of our favorite games.
Of course, fireworks are also a big part of the Chinese New Year festival. In many cities, fireworks are prohibited, due to noise and air pollution and fire hazard. In Dalian, there is no such rule and we experienced fireworks for about 40 days straight. There is not really any rule to it, it seems any time of day or night is fine. The first 3 days are really crazy, it is like living in a warzone. Then the fireworks slow down a bit, but it is still a bit annoying after a while.
Dalian Big Black Mountain
During the holidays, we spent one clear cold winter day (it was around -15 degree centigrade + windy) to go up a prominent hill in the Kaifaqu district, called big black mountain.
About two thirds to the top, there is an actual monastery. It takes about 1-1.5 hours to go up and down to and from the monastery. During summertime, it is possible to go up to the very top, but for some reason in winter you cannot go further. The view was breathtaking and it is a real gem of nature in the middle of a beatiful city.
Finally I have to post a picture of the beach during winter. I suppose many of you have only been to beaches for summer vacation and probably not in winter. For me at least, the sight of a beach with snow was a strange, yet beautiful thing to see.
2GIC 