Spring Festival in the Eye of a Street Photographer

By Xiao Qi

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Spring Festival in the Eye of a Street Photographer

By Xiao Qi

2013，地鐵新年The picture taken in 2013 shows a moment of celebrating the Spring Festival in the subway in Hangzhou.

2010，元宵鬧燈Part of the Lantern Festival celebrations in 2010 in Hangzhou

Li Zhong is one of the photojournalists who wander around the urban and rural Hangzhou and capture their impressions of the city’s events and people, physical and emotional vicissitudes. Since 2001, he has photographed the Spring Festival, the most important festivity of Chinese people. Here are some of the photos he has accumulated over years and wishes to share with our readers.

In Chinese tradition, Spring Festival is a long period celebration that starts long before the old year ends and long after the new year starts. There are festivities and activities and rituals for the celebrations. And there are dos and don’ts. The Spring Festival photos by Li Zhong show what people of Hangzhou do during the biggest annual festivities.

Year-end Bells for Happiness on the eve of Spring Festival is now a big celebration event for many people in Hangzhou. The bellringing ceremony at the Pagoda of Six Harmonies on Qiantang River is a must for many local residents. The bell ringing takes place in temples around the West Lake on the eve of Spring Festival and the first day of the lunar New Year. Usually the bell strikes 108 times, the last strike at the moment when the lunar New Year starts.

越來越多的外國朋友也來體驗中國年。More and more foreigners celebrate the Spring Festival in Hangzhou.

One photo taken in 2003 shows a temple fair. Spring Festival in Hangzhou sees a lot of temple fairs, showcasing local customs shaped and conditioned by changes in economy, politics and culture. Such a temple fair attracts shopping crowds, tourists and some trend watchers. The Wu Hill Temple Fair is mainly on the Wu Hill situated at the downtown area. It also spills over to the streets at the foot of the hill. Tall trees and shops provide a vista of social life and consumption. In the picture is a street stand where China Knots are available.

One picture shows how locals do shopping before the new year. Toward the new year, people loose their purse strings and go on shipping sprees for the family reunion, relatives, and festivities. The modernization of the past decades has put abundant goods in shops for people to take home. Another photo shows how nowadays people use mobile phones to send near year messages to their relatives far away. In the past, the young would set out before daybreak to visit their elders to say Happy New Year and they would receive gift candies in return. They would come home with their pockets stuffed with candies.

Nowadays, local residents of Hangzhou celebrate the Spring Festival by taking part in sporting events. The photo taken in 2011 shows thousands people people gather at Gongchen Bridge to take a walk along the canal. It is part of a city-wide annual fitness event in the city.

The photo taken in 2013 shows a Santa distributing gifts and invitation cards to passengers in a subway car. Passengers, especially kids, were invited to attend New Year celebrations to be held at subway stations by the subway company. Year 2012 marked the beginning of normal subway operation in Hangzhou.

Having a photo taken during the Spring Festival in the past was a memorable event in a year. Nowadays, people have digital cameras and cellphones and can take photos anywhere and anytime. In the photo that features the celebrations held to invite the god of fortune, we can see a lot of people have their cameras out and take photos.

Another photo shows foreigners in Hangzhou celebrate the Spring Festival. More than 60 expats in Hangzhou attended a celebration held at the international center of the West Lake Expo Museum. The festivities at the gathering enabled the expats to understand Chinese New Year better.

Though a lot of new changes are taking place in the life in Hangzhou, Spring Festival remains traditional. The cultural essence remains: as the new year arrives, people greet each other, celebrate the new year together, pray for happiness and fortune, dream of future, worship ancestors, enjoy family reunion, promote harmony, welcome the upcoming spring season.