Dalian: Chinese New Year Celebrations In Dalian. Muffled Up Children on Dalian Beach.

Chinese Firecrackers In Dalian, Day And Night Of Spring Festival Celebrations

Dalian had no restrictions on firecrackers and it was my first experience of hearing them frequently throughout the days and nights, at Spring Festival Time. On New Year's Eve, we had been in Beijing, where firecrackers were forbidden, because of the pollution they cause and most of those that we heard, were way out in the surrounding countryside, except for the occasional firecracker lit when the Beijing policemen were looking away.

One hour before midnight on the eve of the New Year, we had ventured out of the Beijing hotel, and walked down to the road junctions to have a better view of the night sky. There were bursts of rockets lighting up the sky with a spectacular display of colorful stars and trailers, but these appeared to be far off in the distance, well outside the city boundary. It was completely different in Dalian city where, in the early mornings, a pall of smoke hung over the city from the previous nights' celebrations, but this was soon blown out to the sea, then the sun would shine in a cloudless sky, except that someone had forgotten to stoke the fire, because the days were bitterly cold !

Gloria Plaza Hotel Dalian And City Square

From our room on the top floor of the Gloria Plaza Hotel, we looked down on the Dalian City Square, always free of litter and dominated by a multifaceted glass globe, its panels reflecting an abstract view of its surroundings. Whenever we were returning in a taxi after visiting one of the many bays or parks in Dalian, we knew we were near our hotel as soon as we saw the Globe at the end of a long approach road to the square. It was certainly a spectacular landmark.

One day we walked away from the Gloria Plaza Hotel down one of the roads radiating from the Dalian city square, and then down a side-road, looking for an old book shop. Returning back to the hotel along a different road, we passed a small restaurant in which people were enjoying a meal. Two doors away a young man was sitting alone on some steps, looking very sad and in a pitiful condition, yet he was ignored by all the passing people, as if he did not exist. We gave him some 'fung bao', which at first he was reluctant to accept, and later in the evening we went back to look for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. We hoped that family or friends had rescued him from his dreadful situation, when all the city seemed to be in a mood of celebration, with the smell of smoke from Chinese firecrackers everywhere. When we flew from Beijing the approach to Dalian was over the sea, and on the outskirts of the city, near the quays, there were many tall smoking chimneys, but the air in the city center was free from pollution, and almost sparkling, despite the chimneys and the firecrackers.

Crystal Clear Water And Golden Pebbles At Dalian

The city air was free from pollution as was the sea water at Dalian Tiger Park and Golden Pebble Bay with the same sparkling quality, and it was crystal clear. Had it been Summer Time, the conditions would have been ideal to go for a swim, but the bitterly cold air was no deterrent to a group of Chinese cold water swimmers, who were at one end of the Dalian beach. When they came out of the water, their bodies were quiet red with cold. To one of them I made an exaggerated shiver and indicated that he must be crazy, but he just laughed and it was obvious that he had enjoyed his swim. Before the group left, they lit a few strings of firecrackers to celebrate the day, so for a while that part of the beach had a coating of red debris.

There were different ways to celebrate the Chinese New Year for the families of Dalian city. There was the Tiger Park to visit where a very large model of a Tiger attracted the children who wanted to sit on its back, and where other families were collecting shelled seafood off the rocks before the incoming tide covered them. At Golden Pebble Bay the children were happy enough just casting pebbles off the beach into the sea, and watch the splashes. As the water was so clear, small fish could be seen darting about below, perhaps disturbed by the noise of the pebbles hitting the surface. Even on such a cold day, the beach at Golden Pebble Bay, attracted visitors. The Dalian seaside resort had much to offer whatever the season; whatever the weather.

Chinese New Year Starts In Beijing
Treacherous Whirlpools In Yangtze River Gorge