Letter from China:Courageous, enterprising and successful - these are some of the characteristics associated with those lucky enough to be born in the Year of the Rat, which has just begun. Chinese people needed resourcefulness to deal with this week's New Year celebration, which proved to be a tough one for families around the country, writes Clifford Coonan
The Rat year in Beijing kicked off with fireworks to scare off evil spirits and fiery mao tai liquor to fend off the cold. But never far from people's thoughts was the worst weather for half a century, which frustrated the efforts of millions of migrant workers to get home to see their families.
As people raised their glasses and sent hundreds of millions of congratulatory text messages, the news reports on state television told of how appalling blizzards which brought most of China to a standstill were easing.
Although bitterly cold, the bad weather had only a mild impact on the capital itself, as residents took advantage of blue skies and empty streets to stroll the parks and streets, bundled up in their winter coats and scarves. Factories were closed for the holiday, and commuters were few, so the skies were beautifully clear.
It was a less leisurely holiday for China's 200 million migrant workers, who faced overwhelming difficulties getting back to their families in the interior because the train system ceased to function and the airports were closed. There were power cuts in 17 provinces, cuts in water supplies and food stocks were badly depleted.
For many bricklayers, security guards and waitresses, the week-long holiday is the only opportunity they get to see their families during the year. Miss it, and you just have to wait until next year.
In southern China, at Guangzhou train station in the normally warm province of Guangdong, there were riots as people fought to get on the train to get home for this most valuable of public holidays, and one person was killed in the melee. More than 14 million migrant workers got stuck in Guangdong and could not get home.
Wary of the politically destabilising effects of grumbling migrant workers, Chinese president Hu Jintao and premier Wen Jiabao went on a whistle-stop publicity campaign to assure the people the government was doing everything it could to help and to urge responsible behaviour. And to say sorry, too.
Now people are starting to count the cost of the bad weather - 10 per cent of forests were damaged by the winter storms and in the hardest-hit regions nearly 90 per cent of forests were destroyed.
This is good weather in which to be a Rat. According to Chinese astrology, this year's rats are Earth Rats - good achievers, extroverts, honourable, loving to their friends and family, if a bit tight with money.
The Lunar New Year Gala, probably the world's most watched annual TV show, with around one billion viewers, had unity and the courage of the people to cope with the snow disaster as a theme this year.
There were grumblings that one of the stars of the show, actress Zhang Ziyi of Memoirs of a Geisha and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame, had lip-synched her performance of a patriotic song.
Zhang Ziyi, who has played resourceful women in many of her roles, seemed not to care.
"I wish spring would come earlier so that the snow in disaster areas would melt soon," she enthused, adding that her song symbolised happiness and auspiciousness, both very important in the Year of the Rat and the Olympic year of 2008.
The Olympics, which start in six months, were never far from the top of the agenda, despite the fact that much of the country was snowbound.
Xinhua news agency was delighted to report that city residents were making progress in their efforts to stamp out spitting and littering, while people were also learning to be civil to each other and stand in queues.
There has been a concerted action to improve manners ahead of the games, with people told that they must do their duty and contribute to the Olympic Games by behaving like "responsible capital people", an exhortation that carries weight among proud Beijingers. Over half a million tourists from abroad are expected during the Olympics, with two million domestic tourists forecast.
The city has also issued 2.8 million pamphlets about daily etiquette to local households and offered courses to all civil servants and 870,000 people working in the service sector.
The 11th day of each month is officially designated as "Queuing Day", when passengers must stand in line at bus stops.
Beijingers used the holiday to go on a spending spree, thronging the city's new shopping malls and supermarkets to buy New Year gifts. Of 2,900 department stores and supermarkets surveyed, sales rose 13.7 per cent year on year. Chinese New Year is a "Golden Week" holiday, when the government is keen for people to use to spend some of the new money they have earned.
Some changes are sad. A tradition at Chinese New Year is for a family to roll out dough for Chinese dumplings, known as jiaozi, and fill them with meat and vegetable ingredients, then close them up and boil them for a delicious feast to welcome in the New Year.
The process takes hours, and is a great bonding session for family members who see each other rarely, a real symbol of unity.
This year, a big seller in the supermarkets was frozen jiaozi. China may be booming, but no one has any time any more.