BEIJING, Feb 9 (AFP) - Chinese across the world embraced the rooster and bade farewell to the monkey Wednesday as Lunar New Year was ushered in with temple fairs and family reunions.
Freezing temperatures in China kept many people indoors although fairs across Beijing attracted thousands of visitors, eager to sample snacks such as sticky sweets and more unusual offerings like fried worms.
The fairs are a tradition that stretch back to the Liao Dynasty (907-1125) and feature folk performances, acrobatics and operas.
At Ditan Park, the site of the alter where sacrifices were once made to the God of Earth, re-enactments of traditional Qing ceremonies were being played out.
In Longtanhu Park, red lanterns dangled from trees while long rows of stalls lined the lanes around an icy lake as fairgoers strolled with family and friends.
"What I love most about temple fairs is the food. You can get all kinds of unusual food here. My favorite is fried worms," said Jeff Hua, a property insurance sales agent, checking out the stalls with a colleague.
Having cleaned their homes and sorted out their financial affairs as customary before the new year, people socializing Wednesday had time to think about new year wishes.
"I hope my work will go smoothly and my parents will have good health," said Liu Yijue, 26, a civil servant whose job involves helping the poorest urban dwellers.
Hundreds of millions of people, mostly migrant workers and students, have returned home for the week-long government-enforced holiday, which for many is the only family reunion of the year.
Vast numbers welcomed the rooster year in front of the television Tuesday night, with China Central Television airing its annual four-hour extravaganza on at least four channels simultaneously.
In a sign of the times, it was this year broadcast with French, English and Spanish subtitles.
Packed with singing, dancing and sketches, the gala has been a New Years Eve staple since it debuted in 1983. Celebrities scramble to be on it.
This year action movie icon Jackie Chan showed off his Shaolin kung fu skills while China's leading lady Zhang Ziyi, star of hits like "House of the Flying Daggers" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" performed a dance.
Those who could tear themselves away celebrated with sumptuous and expensive dinners at restaurants.
At midnight, explosions of firecrackers reverberated across the country, despite a ban on them in many large centres, with the noise believed to chase away evil spirits.
Similar reunions and feasts took place in Chinese communities around the world.
In Hong Kong, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa went on a rare public walkabout through a festive flower market offering new year wishes, talking up the economy and the need to build a "harmonious society."
Chinese President Hu Jintao chose the poor southern Guizhou region for his New Year appearance. He was pictured preparing traditional New Year cakes with local farmers while urging unity among China's various ethnic groups.
"Our country is a united, multi-ethnic socialist country. Every ethnic group has made an important contribution to our nation's development and progress," said Hu.
While the festival is a time for celebration, it has its rules.
Cooking is discouraged during the first five days while it is considered inauspicious to touch knives and scissors.
More bizarre superstitions include avoiding topics like diseases and ghosts and even getting a haircut in the first month.
While the just-gone Year of the Monkey was seen as a bringer of good fortune, soothsayers predict the rooster to be a year of ups and downs.
The rooster sign is the 10th in a 12-year rotation on the Chinese calendar that starts with rat, followed by ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and ends with pig.
02/09/2005 03:43 GMT - AFP