What an auspicious sign when Eric and I found a massive pig along a village road in Shangen when we were driving around checking for surf.
I just got back from a few amazing days in Shanghai. It's an incredible city, and I lived it up like true yuppie scum, reading the IHT and SCMP while sipping cappuccinos. I spent way too much money and stayed out too late every night, but that's what a vacation is for, surely.
It occurred to me while I've seen about six spring festivals in Hong Kong, I've never been in the mainland for the new year. In Hong Kong, fireworks are illegal, but it is a very different story here. The skies on the stroke of midnight on the 18th were absolutely mental.
Living in China one notices how the social contract can vary from what one is used to in their home country. The contract seems almost non-existent in some cases, such as forming orderly queues. But it seems like every member of society here realizes their duty to set off an insane amount of fireworks for hours on end when bringing in the new year. There's no need for the city to put on a fireworks display as is done in America for the 4th of July. And with people setting of professional grade fireworks on every street corner, the 4th of July is a pathetic display in comparison.