Spring Festival Village Style

　　After experiencing life in China for some years， oneeventually comes to the conclusion that that Spring Festival(Chinese New Year) is best celebrated outside of the bigcities， where less is more. The small village of Lufang inDaxing District， south of Beijing is well known as the areathat produces Beijing’s watermelons. The district is made upof over 550 villages and is a fusion of rural ochre brick， dirtroads and three-wheel trucks.

　　At Spring Festival time the village dusts itself off and rollsout a faded red carpet for visitors. On arrival our group waswelcomed with dynamite sized firecrackers and it tookseveral waves of greeting to ensure they realized we camein peace， but the blasts continued. Suddenly the bombingstopped to be replaced by the ear-piercing horns， drums andcymbals that accompany the traditional yangge Lunar NewYear dance. A swarm of villagers dressed in bright yellow，blue， pink and green costumes leapt forward in greeting.

　　Some danced using props like the waist drum， dancing fanor fake donkey， all expressing happiness. Their faces werepainted， but their smiles were authentic. It allgot a bit crazy – dancers whirling about， drummersgoing ballistic， crowds of curious farmerspressing forward， everyone pushing andbumping trying to get a photo of the visitingforeigners.

　　So much for getting away from the city toexperience a quieter more authentic SpringFestival. A woman dressed as a man， with ahuge false mustache stuck up her nose grabsthe hand of my colleague and yanks him intothe middle of the road to dance. She must havebeen working out because she almost rippedhis arm off.

　　Exhausted dancers eventually took a breakand what followed was a display of ratherbizarre events from a somewhat distinguishedlooking gentleman， who， after connecting withhis inner life force， proceeded to cut chopstickswith banknotes and break bricks using a glasscup. Kungfu antics concluded， the call forlunch brought all other activities to a halt. Jiaozi(dumplings) at this time of year are a culinarytradition and having the opportunity to samplethis favorite treat with a group of farmers isa unique experience. Visitors crowded into amodest farmhouse， sipping endless cups ofgreen tea served by giggling family members and surroundedby fruit， peanuts and sunflower seeds， made quitea spectacle.

　　The TV set blared out a kungfu epic at high volume asgiant bowls of steaming jiaozi and the essential vinegar dipmaterialized. One after another jiaozi disappear down throatsand any sign of hesitation was squashed by the sergeantmajor-esque lady of the house. Stomachs extended andexiting into the chilly air， the village paper man appeared todisplay his skills. The jovial craftsman spends his time makingpaper funeral effigies of donkeys， bulls， cell phones， TVs –anything of value the deceased would find useful in the nextlife. Villagers begin to make coffins and prepare for the deathof their parents very early in life， and the paper effigies areburnt along with the cremation ceremony， providing fortunein the afterlife.

　　An interesting and fortunate day in this life and a chanceto cross the cultural divide in a simple setting. Sharing withthose who have little， is the true nature of friendship.