Color takes on a whole new meaning when you stroll through Shenzhen's annual Spring Festival street market. From a distance it looks like streams of red, orange, gold and yellow flowing together and forming a dazzling river of flowers and fruit.

 

"Shenzhen" and "holiday" might seem incompatible words, but the economic miracle city abutting the Hong Kong SAR is full of surprisAt this time of year Shenzhen shifts gears: the full throttle pursuit of money eases off for a short spell while everyone prepares to celebrate Spring Festival.

 

Staying for festival

 

Years ago, I discovered the city sets up many small and large flower and plant markets just before Lunar New Year. Locals told me where the largest market was, and I enjoyed it so much it's become a yearly destination. Everyone knows this is a city of immigrants.

 

As Spring Festival approaches, most Shenzhen residents think only of going back home for a family reunion, but that leaves several million people who can't make the trip for one reason or another: maybe their parents prefer to come south for milder weather, or perhaps they can't get time off for a trip. Whatever the reason, on February 15, Shenzhen will return to "festive mode."¡IImmigration is almost empty, traffic is light and the whole place looks different as everyone puts on bright holiday colors instead of the usual dark business suits of the rest of the year. Babies in arms, grandparents in wheelchairs, courting couples and schoolchildren out with their friends: this is an enjoyable excursion for everyone.

 

Flowers

 

The flowers inspire warm smiles and friendly chat among complete strangers. Can this really be Shenzhen, the world's most successful economic lab, famous for its ruthlessness? At Ai Guo Lu, an entire section between two roundabouts has been turned into a pedestrian's paradise. Stalls ine the street on both sides, and the verges and open spaces on both sides have been pressed into service to store potted plants and cut flowers.  

 

Business is quiet the first day, which closes in the early hours of February 18. In the meantime, most people here browse and chatter rather than buy.

 

Some are clearly trying to decide whether they have the patience to wait until the prices start tumbling in the last hour or two of sales. Others are taking their time over selecting the perfect purchase.

 

Citrus fruits are the dominant color and smell in the annual feast for the eyes. They range from knee-high potted kumquats to giant pomelos that might require a small crane to position.

 

Dahlias and roses the size of cabbages come in every shade from the palest pink and lavender to deep crimson. Red Anthuriums are massed together alongside exotic bromeliads in yellow, orange and blood red.

 

Cut branches, and sometimes whole trees of flowering peach, plum and pear are lined up to anchor in big vases, and the growers have fussed for months to get these to bloom on the right day. They go so far as to strip off every leaf to encourage the shoots to put out extra buds to cover the bare twigs.

 

Every few years, a new craze emerges. Not so long ago, the first "nipple fruit" caused a sensation, but now they are commonace.  

 

Occasionally they have been left on their gangly stems, but at the market, the fruits have mostly been pegged together with slivers of bamboo to form long-lasting golden pyramids of varied heights. Many of my Hong Kong gardening friends enjoy the fair as an opportunity to seek out unusual plants.

 

Peonies are taken for granted in Northern China, but they can't survive the hot and umid southern summers. Nevertheless, as a short-lived seasonal treat, few blooms are as beautiful as these.

 

In their own way, camellias are equally beautiful, with their exquisite single or multiple flowers like something created by a skilled pastry chef.

 

Vendors come from near and far, many bringing unusual orchids with them. Sadly, most are taken from the wild, stripping large areas of Yunnan and other provinces of their unique flora.

 

Food

 

After feasting your eyes at the Fair, it's time to treat your palte.

 

One of the many pleasures of a visit to Shenzhen is the wide variety of authentic regional cuisine.

 

Immigrants from every part of China all want to eat home-style cooking, which is why the Special Economic Zone has so many excellent regional restaurants in every price range.

 

For Hong Kongers, this is a good chance to enjoy food not found in the SAR. Restaurants seem to be fully staffed yet fairly quiet at this season, so you rarely need to queue for a table.  

 

At Muslim restaurants, small pieces of mutton are skewered on wooden toothpicks and marinated with fragrant cumin and other spices before being grilled over glowing charcoal.

 

The Hunan restaurants fill huge clay pots with individual pots of soup and braised meats to cook for long hours.

 

Maybe this year's choice will be a long-time favorite, a Sichuan restaurant where there are no compromises in quantities of chil and Sichuan peppercorn. After that, there will still be time for a quick visit to one of the special Spring Festival displays in Deng Hu Park before heading home.

 

Tips

 

Try to reach Ai Guo Lu by mid-morning, before the crowds build up. Hopefully by that time you'll be ready to move on. Re-charge your camera batteries the night before and take an extra memory card-this is a wonderfully photogenic day. Watch your valuables and money-pickpockets operate here, as they do in every crowded place all over the world. You can walk to Ai Guo Lu from the railway station if you have a good sense of direction.

 

Souvenirs

 

Look to buy brightly lacquered cooking chopsticks: these decorative, multi-purpose souvenirs never seem to be available anywhere else at other times of the year.

 

New year symbols sell out fast, be they paper cuttings or animals.

 

Two years ago there were beautiful roosters, but last year's dogs didn't have the same appeal.I wonder how the pigs will look this time around.

 

(Beijing Today by Jane Ram February 7, 2007)