For weeks, the maternity ward of the Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital in Taiyuan has been so full that one has to make a reservation for a bed days before the baby is due.

At a maternity hospital in the nation's capital Beijing, women in the final stage of pregnancy have to wait in long queues for their routine prenatal test, and doctors have to take turns for a brief lunch break before hurrying back to work.

The reason for the hurry is a belief that those born in the year of the goat would have bad luck all their lives, explained a father-to-be in Taiyuan.

However, the idea is not a Chinese custom, but merely a superstitious belief held by certain people in some underdeveloped regions, said Zhao Shu, an expert on Chinese folk culture.

In fact, the Chinese forefathers used to associate the goat with nice things, as the Chinese character is used to form other characters representing "beauty", "luck" and "kindness", he added.

Despite the prejudice, many young couples still choose to have babies next year.

"I don't believe such nonsense," said Zhang, a white-collar worker in Beijing who is now five months pregnant. "I know many people who were born in the year of the goat and enjoy life as much as any one of us."

Some mothers-to-be are even taking advantage of the superstition, saying their baby "goatlings" will face less competition as they grow up.

"As fewer children will be born next year, we won't have to worry if there will be enough openings at kindergartens or schools later on. Even the job market could be more optimistic the year our child finishes college," said Luo, whose baby is due in April, 2003.

A brief review of the Who's Who in China also proves that people born in the year of the goat can be just as lucky, successful and long-living as anyone else.

In the past century or so, a large number of "goats" have made a name as high-ranking officials, scientists and sports and movie stars.

Cai Hesen, born in 1895 as a "goat", was an important figure in the Chinese revolution and one of the earliest leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC).

Among the new generation of leaders elected during the recently concluded 16th CPC National Congress, two were born in 1943, a goat year.

He Guoqiang is member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, member of its Secretariat and head of its Organization Department.

Xu Caihou was elected member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and member of the Central Military Commission.

Zhao Puchu, former head of the Buddhist Association of China, was born in 1907 and passed away at the age of 93.

Top mathematician Wu Wenjun, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and winner of the 2001 State Science and Technology Award, was born in 1919 as a goat.

Likewise, award-winning movie star Xi Meijuan, women basketball player Zheng Haixia, soccer players Gao Hong, Liu Ailing, Xu Yunlong and Li Yi and gymnast Mo Huilan were all born as goats in 1955, 1967 and 1979 respectively.

"We can see that a birth sign does not necessarily relate to a person's fate, and it is therefore not advisable to choose which year a child should be born," concluded Zhao Shu.

The Chinese birth sign system is a 12-year rotation that starts with rat, followed by ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and ends with pig.

The goat year will start on the first day of the Chinese lunar new year, which falls on Feb. 1, 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency December 31, 2002)