Chinese New Year 2012

Chinese New Year, usually called as Spring Festival, is the most significant and ceremonious traditional festival celebrated by Chinese nation for over 4000 years. Starting from the first day of the first Chinese lunar month and lasting for 15 days till the celebration of Lantern Festival, Spring Festival is no doubt the longest Chinese festival with sufficient preparations from one week before the New Year’s Eve (called除夕"Chuxi" by Chinese), which is the first climax of the festival. It marks the pass of the previous year and a welcome to a brand new year, called as Guo Da Nian (过大年, literally means to pass a big year). On that day, no matter how far, people will go back home and the whole family will get together with great happiness to make dumplings together, enjoy a reunion dinner, watch Spring Festival Gala and stay up late (called “Shousui” by Chinese). Other unique celebration activities during the Chinese New Year Festival include setting off fireworks, pasting spring couplets and New Year paintings, worshiping to gods, enjoying dragon dances and lion dances, paying New Year visits, holding kinds of New Year’s garden parties, etc.

The Date of Chinese New Year 2012

The Spring Festival of 2012 begins from Monday, January 23 (the first day of the first Chinese lunar month), and lasts for 15 days till Monday, February 6, the Lantern festival.

The Year of Dragon 2012

The New Year 2012 belongs to the year of dragon according to the Chinese Zodiac. As Chinese nation compare themselves to the descendants of dragon (an auspicious symbol considered by Chinese), the year of dragon is always believed to be the luckiest year which only happens every 12 years. In this year, more people will start their new projects or careers, or marry and give birth to “a baby of dragon year”, and definitely, the celebration of the new year of dragon will always grander and more magnificent than ever.

Join in a cheerful Spring Festival Tour to have a particular experience at festive Chinese New Year

Our elaborately designed Chinese New Year 2012 Tours offer full experiences for a traditional Chinese Spring Festival and excellent chances to spend at Chinese families at the day of Chuxi (New Year’ Eve)
- enjoy a big Chinese reunion dinner;
- make dumplings and share together;
- enjoy the Spring Festival Gala on CCTV (regarded as an indispensible on the Eve);
- set off fireworks to welcome the New Year;
- learn to say Chinese auspicious words to each other;
- send and get New Year red envelopes for propitious omens.

In addition, you can have an unforgettable memory with happy atmosphere to

- enjoy traditional dragon dances and lion dances;
- join in the Yangko (a popular folk dance especially in North China) parade;
- enjoy colorful Chinese lantern parties;
- participate bustling temple fairs;
- take part in various garden parties.