Dan Jiao
, increases your chances of wealth. Therefore, when you consume many of them, you get too much "
Jin Yuan Bao
", a monetary currency used during the Jin Dynasty.
On the other side of the dinner table, there is a bowl of yellow bean sprouts. The shape of the dish reminds me of a lucky Chinese charm called "Ru Yi", that is responsible for keeping you in good health. Yes, indeed, I couldn't wait to feast on the contents within this bowl, after the incredibly lavish dinner to balance the diet. At the dining table, Hong asks whether I know what " Rou Yuan" is.
"Yes, I do, they are meatballs representing the family's gathering at the Spring Festival, which is also another name for CNY" I replied while helping myself with some of it from the bowl. I am munching them unreservedly, after all, it is a day to celebrate.
My mother-in-law Wu Meilan encourages me to help myself even more with food in the rice bowl. China has many varieties of rice, and the most popular is the glue rice.
This time of the year, over dinner, the conversation mainly revolves around celebration and the mass migration of Chinese.
There is even a name for it, and it is called " Chun Yun". In the Chinese language "Chun" means Spring season, whereas "Yun", stands for transport. Although it may not sound that poetic, it is how the name came about. During the Chinese New Year celebrations, around eight hundred million people swarm trains to go to their distant hometowns and villages. It can sometimes be a big challenge for logistics and transportation.
This period is so busy that tickets are sold out online within minutes. Migrant workers who cannot access the internet would struggle to get tickets. Some can still manage to get official tickets without seats; the problem is enduring many miles standing, in a country many times bigger than Germany. People can travel for over forty hours before reaching their destination. Think about those without seats, it is incredibly discomforting. That in place, however, some opt to buy "black-market" tickets, from the so-called "Yellow-Ox Group", albeit at exorbitant prices, especially for those travelling as a family in a group.
After the Spring Festival, the situation starts to calm back to normal. Prices for train tickets go down, but the situation remains dramatic during the rush hours, especially for the many low-income earners, who struggle to go back to their places of work in time.
After the festive dinner, Hong and I receive a small piece of gold, made in the image of a horse's head. The significance of the gift is that when Hong produces children in future, they would also receive a similar piece of gold. This gesture seemes to be luring Hong and me into having offsprings, for her parents to get grandchildren to raise. She has, however, told them that she would rather have children abroad, than in a polluted environment.
On the first day of the New Year, the Chinese usually stay at home. People believe that visiting other people's families on this day, would drain money from them and pass it over to the other family.
As common sense would have it, no one would love to part with their money, more so 'being given to others', just like that. The belief maintains that if one stayed home on this day, " Shou Cai", a traditional greeting ushering in wealth and prosperity, would be there to hold and protect the property.
On New Year's Day, Hong and I travel to the city using the metro train. The newly launched train contributed to the value increase of house properties in the area, including Hong's parent's home. We walk by the riverside using the pedestrian pathway. Farmers sell their products, mainly to the tourists who throng this ever-busy place.
The locals use mopeds or cars using narrow streets, to access the area. Hong and I treat ourselves with a Tofu soup, and grilled lamb roasted on a spit, and flatbread.
After spending a night with the in-laws, Hong and I go to visit her ageing grandparents, and cousins, who were each given a Hongbao. As a couple, you must give money to relatives with children; it is a tradition. Most relatives were living a stone's throw away, so we do not go far. And, there are a few visits because the apartments were cold. People prefer to keep themselves in their homes. The second New Year's Day is also another busy one, because traditionally it is the "Son-In-Law Day". If you do not attend the New Year's Day, the tradition is that on the second New Year's Day, you must visit your wife's family. Fortunately for me, I was already there, which made it easier.
In the morning of the third New Year's Day, Hong drives me and her parents to Wetland Park on Taihu Lake. The weather is not all that good, we are, however, not much bothered with it. All we do is to enjoy the excursion, so we continu to see the hot springs. There are various springs under a vast heated dome, and you can comfortably bathe in them. We are unluck. We are told to return home because we had not made a reservation at the hot springs reception office to be allowed in. We all look at each other. "What is the meaning of this?", one of them echoes inaudibly. We have no choice but to return home. All tickets had already been booked. As expected, the place is at times overcrowded being a big touristic attraction. We missed the chance to see these hot springs. Hong was still feeling cold. She jumps on the wheel, and we drive back home.
It is perhaps a bad day. While we are driving back home, a dog suddenly runs into the road, straight in front of our car. "Oh! not again!" Hong exclaims. Before she even finished the sentence, the four-legged friend slightly hit himself on the vehicle. It was the second time for Hong to run into a dog. Fortunately, this time, the animal escaps it into the nearby bush with minor injuries. We are all left in shock.
"This can't be a good year if such an accident happens to us shortly after the CNY! We might not get children this year!" Hong observes. On hearing about not having children, I smile reservedly.
I observe that Hong's mother, who is sitting next to me in the back seat is not thrilled. When we reach home, we notice that our car had a slight dent due to the minor accident earlier with the dog.
Hopefully, the insurance will repair the damage.
In China, and in many other parts of the world women prepare something to eat for the family, in Hong's family, it is the other way around. It has been happening for decades. Here it is Hong’s father who is always in the kitchen. Li Gengnan is, however, an excellent cook. His meals are delicious. Traditionally, this time of the year, a meal cannot be Chinese, if it misses Nian Gao, a small round rice cake. Nian Goa is sometimes known as the Chinese New Year's cake.
In Chinese tradition, it is considered good luck to eat Nian Gao, a homonym for the "higher year" symbolising higher income, higher position, growth of children, and promise of a better life. So, eating Nian Gao, is considered good luck, during the Chinese New Year period.
After dinner, I go to skype, to talk with my son Daniel, about creating a homepage. Daniel is a student of “Computing and Digital Media” in Augsburg. He designs websites for a German company between semesters. I ask to join us for a Thailand vacation, but he refuses.
“My opinion about the security situation in Thailand is, depending on what I were reading in newspapers and watching on television at that time, I advise that it is not safe to travel to Thailand.”
Hong thinks, Daniel since he is a well-travelled person who always knows his way around. I disagreed with him because a few years back, when I was on holiday there, it was beautiful and peaceful.
I am not in any way threatened. Already Hong and I are planning to go for a holiday in Thailand, after the new year's celebrations. I ask Hong what she thought of a beach holiday in Pattaya, a prominent tourist resort for foreigners. Pattaya is only two hours drive south of
