From ‘virtual’ lai see and shopping overseas to watching mermaids and monkey kings: China’s favourite activities for the Lunar New Year
Sending and receiving red packets online and shopping overseas are fast becoming two of the most popular – and modern – ways of celebrating the Lunar New Year.
Guangzhou Daily reported that 8.08 billion red packets were sent to more than 420 million people on the eve of the Year of the Monkey, eight times as many as last year.
Virtual red packets were launched by online companies in 2014 and soon became a nationwide phenomenon. They come in several varieties, with the most popular by messaging service WeChat. Some services include options to ‘cash-out’ with large internet companies.
Shopping sprees overseas are also popular.
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Nearly six million residents were planning to travel overseas, excluding Hong Kong and Macau, for this year’s holiday, compared to 5.18 million last year, according to a study by China Tourism Academy and online travel agent ctrip.com. This year’s favourite destinations were Thailand, Japan and Korea.
Local tourism is also receiving a boost – mainland destinations are expecting 300 million visits during the holiday period, a 14 per cent rise on last year. Yunnan (雲南), Fujian (福建) and Sanya (三亞) are among the most popular destinations. The average Beijing resident is expected to spend 5,000 yuan (HK$5,920) while travelling; the average Shanghai resident, 7,000 yuan. Residents from second-tier cities such as Yiwu in Zheijiang (浙江) are expected to spend more than 6,000 yuan.
Xinhua reported that the mainland’s box office set a record for a single day on Monday, with sales of 660 million yuan breaking the record of 425 million yuan set on July 18, 2015.
Director Stephen Chow’s The Mermaid topped the box office on its Monday premiere with takings of 270 million yuan, setting a new record for domestic made movies on a single day.
From Vegas to Macao 3 and The Monkey King 2 also debuted on Monday, each taking more than 100 million yuan.
Xinhua also said Beijing city had cleaned up more than 400 tonnes of firecracker scraps, one-third less than last year.
Highways in Guangzhou and Wenzhou reported heavy traffic on the second day of the new year.
