The Year of the Monkey....2016 Chinese New Year!

Yesterday I went out to the trash can, which we share with two other apartments on our floor, and i looked down to see a bag which i thought was full of leaves for a second, I know, sill me.  It was feathers and I am sure a carcass of a bird......ewwww not what I needed to see.  It then reminded me of a while back when we were eating in a Chinese restaurant we frequent when i head a plastic bag sound, looked down pretty close to my feet and there was a live chicken sitting in a plastic bag under the table.  I lost my appetite and couldn't eat anything more, i pulled my feet up on to the bench i was sitting afraid it would walk over to me, and I quickly hurried my family along to eat their meals.  I know I am in another country but somethings I will never get used to.  :(

For those who aren't familiar with Chinese New Year, it is a celebration that happens in China every February, the dates vary a bit, but it is a week long shut down of most things in China.  This is a time when most people travel to their "Home City" and spend time with family.  This is the year of the Monkey so every where we ventured were red signs, red monkeys, lanterns, red envelopes, etc.  here are some of the photos of New Year decorations.  This holiday is similar to a week long Christmas, everything is really closed down, but the Chinese restaurants certainly aren't open.  We had a friend from the USA visit us and we showed him around Nanjing and Shanghai, many restaurants were closed, the malls were open and the main tourist attractions.  One place we went in Nanjing which is the former Capital of China, was the President's house.  See above for some of the photos, we were able to go inside one of the buildings, they had offices set up as they were way back when, and they had a small bunker with a heavy metal door, but no entrance.  We also went back to our beloved Chocolate Factory in Shanghai and it was delicious, they even have some new flavors from the last time i was there!  If you are ever in Shanghai or Austria you need to look up this company, Zotter Chocolates, amazing!

Grace got her first "hair cut" or all around trim while we were in Shanghai, hoping to make it grown but she did great!

We had dinner in Nanjing with our Chinese teacher Olive who is from Nanjing the city we first visited.  It was an authentic Chinese meal and the steam buns were delicious!

Everyday in China there are lots of fireworks, mostly the kind that make a loud "Boom" noise and then you see smoke, don't picture the 4th of July here folks.  Here are some close up photos from fire works for New Years which were constantly going off all over China during the CNY week!

Chinese New Year Decorations in the Malls and other places around town.  Stores had "deals" going for the holiday at one toy store you could buy the bag in the second row left for 28rmb (less than $5) and it was stapled shut, you got everything inside.  Of course I had to try this, we got a bubble gun, a yoyo, a doll and i think one other thing I can't recall so I think it was a good deal.  At Dairy Queen, you could buy a card for 5rmb (less than $1) and you could get one free add on to your blizzard for the year.  Many red envelopes are given at this time of year, everyone from your friends, family, to Burger King are giving something away like this.  Blake and Grace got a few red envelopes with lucky money in them to celebrate the New Year!

Oranges are a lucky fruit, you can see the orange tree with red envelopes hung all over it.

These are some of my random pictures around China, we saw a display in the middle of the mall for some nice wooden furniture.  There were giveaways on the beverages this month, Pepsi is offering a folk AND knife while the Orange Drink people are offering Pepsi chopsticks.  When you slip, "slip carefully" as to not have bodily harm.  The bottom left are hand warmers, they look like muffs and you can place your hands inside to keep warm, i believe some have a warm gel ouch inside.  These are really common in China and often are shaped like animals, cartoon characters, etc.  The bottom middle photos are how you can purchase tea, dried items you can select and make your own blend of tea.  The last photo in the bottom right is a funny pair of shoes for sale with doll heads in the heel.  The things you can find on taobao!

These are a few photos from the view from our hotel in China, we were in Pudong which is the other side of the river from where we usually stay, very close to the Bund area and the Oriental Pearl Tower.  Also close to either the tallest or second tallest building in the world!

A few photos of the kids having fun last week.  A picture of some strange fruit i found.  And a photo of a wall of those porcelain cats that's arm moves, i think these are for good luck!

    

Blake met up with his Nursery school classmates at a bakery one day, they each got to make a three layered strawberry filled cake and decorate it!

And wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!  Blake and Grace made chocolate covered strawberries!

Until Next time....