Hello Steem Blockchain!
First, I'd like to say Happy Chinese New Year! (Xin Nian Kuai Le in Chinese)
For the unaware, the Chinese New Year is based upon something called the Lunisolar calendar. Many might think that the calendar is based upon the lunar cycles, but most people don't know that a Chinese Lunar Calendar uses both the sun and moon to determine the length of 1 year.
The new year is associated with the beginning of Spring. That is why after the new year, the Chinese celebrate the Spring Festival. Each new year is represented by an animal.
This year is the year of the dog!
Dalian, Liaoning Province
The dog represents Honesty & Loyalty. People born during this year are believed to have these characteristics and are most compatible with people born during the year of the Rabbit, Tiger and Horse, whereas they are least compatible with those born in the year of the Dragon, Ox and Goat. According to Chinese New Year 2018:
Men born in the Dog year are straightforward and genuine. They are energetic, though they’re more pessimistic inside.
Very opinionated, they’re always ready to correct others and defend their stance. It’s not that they want to show off. They just feel it’s necessary to help others realize their mistakes.
These men care deeply for their family. Their stubbornness fades in the face of their loved ones. They work to understand and compromise, resulting in a harmonious family life.
Women born in the Dog year are very cautious. They are indifferent towards people they don’t like, and don’t trust easily. But once they do, it’s permanent. They are intensely protective of their friends and family.
They are genial and independent. They love outdoor activities and being in nature. However, they are also hard workers and don’t give up until they succeed. Security and a stable income are her requirements for a career.
How do Chinese people celebrate the new year? Let me show you!
My girlfriend, Lillian, invited me to come celebrate the Spring Festival with her family in her hometown of Dalian, located in the northeastern province of Liaoning.
I was thrilled to come along and celebrate with them. It is the biggest holiday of the year in China because almost everyone gets a week off work to visit their families in their hometown. As a result, it will be difficult to find a train ticket during this time. However, I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one.
I packed my luggage and headed out!
The train station in Qinhuangdao, Hebei Province
I was planning to stay for about a week. Initially, I thought about staying at her parents house, but realized that this time is very busy for everyone and I probably would take up too much space in their home with all my luggage and camera gear. Eating is an integral part of the Spring Festival, so the house would be too hectic and I wouldn't have an privacy or space to myself. Instead, I opted to stay at a hotel.
View from outside the hotel
The name of this hotel is Quan Ji Jiu Dian, but in English, they just called it Ji Hotel. Quan Ji means... "Every Season"? I guess they wanted to copy the Four Seasons name hahaha. Jiu Dian means Hotel.
Before commencing our Spring Festival festivities, I wanted to take a quick glimpse of Dalian. Lillian and I took a hike up a mountain to get a view of the cityscape. The city is beauteous, but I wish I could go on a day where the air pollution wasn't easily detectable.
More pictures of the city will be added in future blog posts!
When travelling to China, you will most likely see homes decked out in some special New Year's decorations. Check out this home for instance:
On the front door, there is the Chinese character, 福 (pronounced "fu" with a rising intonation), which has several meanings like good fortune, prosperity and happiness. This character is very important to Chinese culture. Many homes have this character on their front door not only during the Spring Festival, but year-long.
Addionally, lanterns are hung up all over the city; parallel and across the streets. The origin of the lanterns may be unclear. One possible explanation is that in ancient times, lanterns were used to symbolize the metaphorical removal of darkness.
After my little tour of Dalian, we embarked on our food journey to purchase some ingredients for our upcoming feast. We went into a underground market selling a myriad of meats!
This place was pretty hectic. Unfortunately, I don't have any photos of the rambunctious crowds and vendors shouting everywhere, but you'll have to just trust me on this one. The vendors sold a variety of sausages, animals organs, pig faces and fat, duck meat, chicken, etc. In China, they don't really waste as much of the animal as many do in the West. Usually, people in the West only stick to eating lean meats while in China, they will eat almost any part of the animal. Ever tried chicken feet? Not a big fan...
Next, we bought some snacks. Whenever you go to a Chinese home, they often have a variety of fruits, candies and seeds to munch on. Markets that sell these items are pretty much everywhere in China. The one we went too was quite massive and puts Bulk Barn to shame!
Bags of sweet candies, nuts and dried fruits were frantically placed in bags:
When we got back to her parents' house, it was only a short time before the feast was ready! The parents tirelessly work all day during the Spring Festival in order to cook a variety of tasty, mouth-watering and sometimes bizzare dishes.
Lunch time! Fried silkworms, frozen and fried shrimp, pork with broccoli or green bell peppers, spareribs, pig fat, garlic sprouts, jellyfish with Chinese cabbage, fish, chicken and dried beef
What really surprised me were the frozen shrimp. These shrimp are from the North Pole and upon catching them are immediately steamed. Eating them frozen confused me at first, but after eating one, they tasted like a delicious snack. Extremely fresh and a delectable eating experience. The rest of the food tasted great (well, I'm still put off by the gooey insides of the silkworms that explode in your mouth). Personally, I don't eat pork, so that was the only thing I didn't feast on.
It is a tradition to eat dumplings during most holidays in China; especially the new year. I decided to help make these dumplings to show off that this laowai (foreigner) can make Chinese food! We had two types of fillings for the dumplings: Chinese chives with eggs and pork with onions. There are 3 basic steps to making a dumping:
- Step 1: Roll out the dumpling skin.
- Step 2: Place your choice of fillings in the middle.
- Step 3: Pinch closed.
The most difficult part for me is pinching the dumpling closed. I often put too much filling and then it gets difficult to close it properly. Also, there is an art to it as well; you can't just close it shut. It takes some special skill with your hands to pinch it in a way where there are wrinkles and curves in all the right places and the seal is strong enough that the dumpling doesn't break open when you boil them.
This is what I ended up with:
I didn't make all of these dumplings. Lillian was also there making them with me. If you look at the top picture, the top half were made by Lillian and the bottom half were made by me. Look closely and you can see the difference between hers and mine. Her's has more folds and look fatter, while mine look elongated. Not to bad on my part, but I'll have to keep practicing.
That about wraps up this blog post (pun intended). I was so thrilled to see my previous post get so well-received. I do put a lot of time and effort into these posts to make sure the photos and text are to the best of my ability. I'm always improving and I hope you enjoyed this.
Thanks for reading!
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