CHINA: The sky was lit up and windows shuddered into the early hours yesterday as Beijing residents hailed the start of the "Year of the Dog" by letting off millions of rockets and firecrackers, writes Clifford Coonan in Beijing.
It was the first time Beijing city-dwellers were allowed free rein on fireworks for 12 years and at midnight on Lunar New Year's eve the city looked like a war zone, the sky bright with explosions and the pavements covered in red wrappings and debris.
People believe firecrackers scare off evil spirits and they are much sought after at funerals, as well as Chinese New Year. They are also believed to help attract the god of wealth.
Chinese New Year, which is also known as the Spring Festival, brings about the biggest movement of human beings on the planet as upwards of 120 million migrant workers, students and new capitalists throng the country's trains, buses and aircraft to go home to their families. The period of intense migration lasts 40 days and Chinese people will make over two billion journeys before late February.
Some trains are so crowded that even using the toilet is impossible and there are reports of migrant workers travelling home wearing adult nappies because there is no toilet access. Supermarkets have reported a 50 per cent increase in sales of adult diapers for the long train trips.
When they finally do get to their home towns, they will set off hundreds of millions of euro worth of fireworks over the festival period.
They were certainly busy in Beijing, although by yesterday evening there were already discounts on sparklers, catherine wheels and roman candles in the shops.
The barrage of fireworks had most dogs in the neighbourhood barking all night, although this is actually a sign of good fortune heading into the "Year of the Dog" in the lunar calendar - "woof-woof" is linked to the Chinese character "wang" which means prosperity.
There is a Chinese saying: "Cats comes with poverty, while dogs with property." Traditions are closely followed on Chinese New Year. Essential eating are jiaozi, dumplings of meat and vegetables that symbolise prosperity.
Crying on New Year's Day is especially bad luck, and it is traditional to get your hair cut before the Spring Festival, rather than afterwards. Even washing your hair is not auspicious. Avoid knives or sharp objects, which could be used to cut off good fortune, and the number "four" - an unlucky number at the best of times in China - is a particular no-no at New Year, as it is close to the word for "death".
The government likes to use New Year as an occasion to give an indication of future policy intentions. This year, cutting China's yawning rural-urban divide is high on the Communist Party's agenda. President Hu Jintao and prime minister Wen Jiabao were spending Lunar New Year in the countryside, chatting with farmers and rural residents about poverty and healthcare.
Mr Hu visited the old revolutionary city of Yan'an in the central province of Shaanxi, joining in a folk dance and frying rice cakes with locals, as well as reiterating the government's pledge to raise living standards in the countryside.
Mr Wen was in eastern Shandong province where he visited a local clinic and spoke of improving health care in the countryside, the official state news agency Xinhua reported.
Many are going home to get married early into the "Year of the Dog" - it's considered to be an auspicious year to tie the knot, much luckier than the outgoing "Year of the Rooster".
Zhang Lihua, a company clerk in Hefei, will tie the knot on the second day of the Lunar New Year. "I hope my bride and I are lucky enough to get the bliss in the 'Year of the Dog', and I also hope we can have a son in the year," Mr Zhang said.