Review of Beijing Rabbit Year's First Week

2011 Year of the Rabbit has kept us all awake this week whether we enjoyed it or not.
As this joyous holiday comes to a close, families are enjoying the last few days of quality time before heading back to work, sometimes in another province.
Yes, this fuzzy critter certainly blasted its way into Beijing this year. So what have people been doing in Beijing this week to celebrate?
Andrea Hunt has more:

2011 Year of the Rabbit entered the streets and souls of Beijing in a not-so-subtle and tamed way. Beijing's sky has sizzled non-stop with effervescent lights and deafening booms while the smell of smoke has filled the air.

Chinese people have used this week as a sacred time to spend with loved ones, explains Hu Yanqing from southwestern China's Yunnan Province.
Like many, Hu Yanqing works in Beijing far away from her family.

"Meeting family and friends, especially for me, we work somewhere else but not the whole time. And so you see your family and your old friends once a year, so Spring Festival, you've got a few days holiday and you just go back to meet them. This is really the most important thing."

The beautiful sunny weather this week has brought many people to Beijing's numerous temple fairs.

The fairs may be jam-packed full, but many of the businesses have closed. But Chinese bar owner Luga Zhu has kept all four of his locales open in Beijing's Sanlitun area.

The holiday has been a definite boost for business, Zhu says.

"I think it's good. Compared to last year, maybe it's the same. Maybe many people are away, many places are closed down. People still need a place to drink and go out. I always stay open during the holiday because many foreigners have no place to go."

David Muskett from Britain stuck around in Beijing this year. Chinese New Year's Eve was unforgettable, he says.

"As it hit midnight, we went out for a view of the street and it was just unbelievable. There were just people lined up in rows on the side of the street and everyone was taking it in turns to put up bigger and better fireworks and it was like a war zone. Not an assault on the senses but it was just colors and sounds. And I walked home feeling like I had the best night of my life and it was amazing. And you don't get anything like that anywhere in the world."

As everyone gets ready to head back to work, they can reflect on their start of the Rabbit Year, and hope that the rest of the year will be just as good.

For CRI, I'm Andrea Hunt.