One of my
favorite aspects about life in China was the holidays – especially Chinese New
Year (aka “Chun Jie”, “CNY” or “Lunar New Year”). As an American it was hard
for me to appreciate the importance of holiday – like combining Christmas, Easter,
the 4th of July, and Thanksgiving while adding the TV spectacle of
the Super Bowl into a one week holiday.
We are about
to begin the “Year of the Snake”. Not my
favorite of the 12 zodiac animals, give me the dragon or the tiger any day, but
you have to take the good with the bad.
Our first
Lunar New Year experience was in 2006. We skipped town and went skiing in
Japan. Clearly, I did not understand what I was missing. We had only been in
China for five months and, after having a driver that held our car for ransom,
had recently hired Philip. The family ski trip was a tradition, leaving the country
during a major holiday seemed like a good idea and I wanted Philip to be able
to have the holiday time with his family.
We loved
skiing in Nagano but were anxious to get home to pick up the puppy we had
adopted a few weeks earlier but had left in the care of the shelter until we
returned from our ski trip. We went directly from the airport to meet our
newest family member. Shanghai seemed back to normal. We thought Chun Jie was
over but, as usual, things in China are rarely as straight forward as in they
are in America.
Philip was
still struggling to learn English but tried to explain that Chun Jie was really
a 15 day event and we still had a chance to celebrate. He insisted that I buy
1,000 red firecrackers. When I asked why, I learned about what Philip called “good
lucky”. “Sir” he said, “we must light in front of house and then ‘good lucky’
will come”. Philip is always so
enthusiastic, I usually just said “ok” to whatever he proposed. On the last day
of the Lunar New Year Celebration, the family assembled in front of the house
to light the firecrackers. Philip solemnly told us that after lighting the
firecrackers, we could not clean up the red paper until the next day or else “no
good lucky”. We rolled out the firecrackers
and as I was lighting one end of the long line, I looked up and noticed the
front door was open and our 18 week old puppy was approaching. Too late – the
noise had started, red paper filled the air and our little bundle of fur yelped
and sprinted for the door. I guessed that “good lucky” was only for humans.
Chun Jie,
2007 was a classic. We knew what to expect and enjoyed every minute. I bought
an official box of fireworks which cost more than most locals made in week. Normally,
Philip would have made the purchase for us but in this case, he told me what to
say in Chinese and let me know that I should buy the fireworks for my house. I
accepted the “rite of passage”. Philip watched me from the car and when I
proudly returned with the goods, I received a minor tongue lashing for not
negotiating a better price.
In 2008, a week
before CNY, snowstorms hit many areas of the country that rarely have more than
a few flakes. Shanghai had the most snow recorded in decades. I was supposed to
attend a meeting in a city about 90 minutes west – the last bit of business
before the country shut down for the holiday. The government had closed the
highways to the west but the secondary roads were still open. The weather had
locals in a slight panic as people prepared to board trains, planes and buses
to get to their homes which in some cases were more than a thousand miles away.
Having grown up near Buffalo, NY- I considered the Shanghai “Blizzard” to be a
light spring snowfall and let Philip know we were still going on our day trip.
It turned out to be a long day.
Ignorance, as
they say, is bliss. I had no way of knowing what was going on in the sleepy
towns we were forced to pass through due to the highway closure. The mass
migration home for Chun Jie had begun – hundreds of people were making their
way to small bus and train stations in each town along our route. Of course,
the people walking in the road were not empty handed – gift giving is an important
part of the holiday. Juggling their luggage and packages, the heavily burdened
travelers did not have time to watch out for cars clogging the roads they were
walking on. The cold, ice and snow did not help the situation. The drive took four
hours rather than 90 minutes. We arrived at the office in time for a late lunch
followed by a two hour meeting. As we prepared to make our way back to Shanghai,
snow began to fall again.
Trying to
retrace our route to get home proved difficult: more snow, more people and
darkness to hide the infrequent signs marking the road. We finally realized we
were lost when we entered a small town we didn’t see on the inbound trip. Fortunately
the ever resourceful Philip had thought to provision the van with the favorite American
junk food in the land – Kentucky Fried Chicken and plenty of drinks. Philip
stopped and asked for directions; soon we were headed down a dark, narrow road.
A road where I was to see one of the most amazing sights during my eleven years
in Asia. Out in the middle of nowhere we came upon a man walking down the
middle of the road – large suitcases in each hand and a satellite dish strapped
on his back.
To me, this
man embodied the “can do” spirit of China. As we slowed to safely pass him, the
man did not look left or right he just held his ground in the center of the
road. We were so amazed at the sight, somehow we didn’t think to stop and give
him a ride. I could only speculate that he was walking to catch a bus to start
his trip home. A man working in the industrialized eastern part of the country,
providing for a family that he saw once or twice a year. I think of the “dish”
man every year as Chun Jie nears.
After seven hours on
the road, we finally arrived at my house. Eleven hours in the van round trip
instead of three. I was tired but glad that the weather had enabled me to see
the determination of people making their way home. Providers that make incredible sacrifices for
their families. Puts my “first world” problems in perspective. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Added a day later: From my perspective too many people in my home country hear the rhetoric about "communist" China and judge the entire country by what a tiny minority of "rich, old, Chinese guys" do. China isn't so much communist as one party - there is a difference although as a practical matter it doesn't matter much to people like "dish" man.
Forget that cruise next summer, book a ticket to Chengdu by way of Shanghai and see for yourself.
