Many foreigners working and living in Shanghai begin to make plans for the Spring Festival (lunar New Year) holiday season. Instead of preparing for festival feasts, they are more interested in traveling around in different parts of China to see the different folk cultures during the Spring Festival.

 

John, from Canada, said that he just got married last year. Since he is always busy most time of a year, so he would like to invite his wife to come to visit China during the Spring Festival holiday. The trip might become their “honeymoon travel".

 

In order to have a good time, they will try to avoid the rush hours during the holiday season. Their do-it-yourself tour will last for four days, starting from February 17, or the Spring Festival Eve, when the couple will set off from Shanghai to Nanjing. On lunar New Year's Day, they will arrive in Hangzhou in the evening and return to Shanghai on the fourth day. His wife couldn't wait for the trip.

 

"I have bought a lot of books about traveling in China. The books contain not only the information about scenic spots, but also the different kinds of snacks in every place," she said.

 

Of course, there are lots of other interesting things besides eating and sightseeing. The couple learned that during the Spring Festival holiday, Chinese people will decorate the streets and houses with red lanterns and colorful ribbons. They will also give many folk art performances.

 

"We won't travel far and the trip won't last for a long time. The cities we favor are all well-known historical sites in the Yangtze River delta region with diverse folklores. So we will surely have a chance to see many different customs at the time," said John.

 

In Pudong Jinqiao and Puxi Hongqiao communities centers, where lots of foreigners gather, most foreigners there plan to have a do-it-yourself tour during the seven-day holiday. Staff workers from the property management companies in these community centers have posted lots of travel information for them. The information ranges from scenic spots introduction to car rental services. Lots of foreigners come to the bulletin board every day to search for the information they need. The popular tourist attractions include the quadrangle houses in Beijing, the West Lake in Hangzhou, the Ancient City Wall in Xi'an, and shopping centers in Hong Kong.

 

(Chinanews February 5, 2007)