Life of Guangzhou - Lunar New Year--Activity

The Annual Flower Fair of the Spring Festival 迎春花市

Guangzhou is also called the Flower City. It is said, that people have made a living by planting flowers for a thousand years. The annual Flower Fair of the Spring Festival has become a grand affair in Guangzhou. When there is half a month to go before the Festival, many flower shows are held in some pedestrian streets or parks to attract citizens. Farmers from around the Pearl River Delta bring their best works to the fairs looking forward to a reward for their hard work over the year.

Click here for more: Flower Fair of 2007

Lion Dance 舞狮

Lion dances, Dragon dances and Firework displays are considered necessary for Lunar New Year. On Chu Yi (first day of Lunar New Year), a large-scale firework display will take place on the Pearl River to celebrate the big event. The spectacle will be broadcast live via television across the city.

lion dance [jxcn.cn]

dragon dance [xinhua]

Cai Qing 采青--Picking the Greens

Cai Qing ceremony held in front of a shop. [Guangzhou Daily]

Cai Qing, also known as Picking the Greens, is a tradition in Guangzhou especially during the Lunar New Year.

Shops and stores usually open to business on the second day of the Lunar New Year. During that day, owners of the shop will tie a red envelope filled with money to a head of lettuce and hang it high above the front door. "Lions" dance in front of the door to catch the lettuces and the lucky package. Cai Qing supposedly brings good luck and fortune to the business and the dancers receive the money in the envelop as payment.

A lettuce tied with a red envelope filled with
money is hung high above the front door.
[www.bamboo-wood.net, photo by Suihua]

"Lion" dances in front of the door to catch the lettuces.
[www.bamboo-wood.net, photo by Suihua]

Cai Qing can be divided into many different kinds like Cai Gao Qing (pick the lettuces in a high place), Cai Di Qing (pick the leaves on the ground), Cai Shui Qing (pick the leaves in a basin of water) and Cai Qiao Qing (chairs are piled up as a bridge, and the "lion" picks the lettuces hung under the bridge).

Cai Gao Qing is the most difficult of all. Two dancers (sometimes three or four) stand on each other's shoulders and the "Lion" dances while climbing a long bamboo to pick the lettuces hung on top.

The annual Cai Qing ceremony has a history of hundreds of years in Guangzhou. It is often held in some temples across the Guangdong province to impetrate good luck in the next year.

(Translated by Carrot Chan and Proofread by Kimberly Barteau and Alan Devey)