So Laura and I took a bus during the day from Lijiang to Kunming. I read two books while on the 8hour+ bus ride. When we arrived in Kunming we had an early dinner at a hot pot restaurant before catching a cab to the airport.
Sunday night was a special day in the Chinese New Year, and a midnight people celebrate (like CRAZY) by setting off fireworks EVERYWHERE. We did not know this. The plane arrived at 11:40pm and we got a cab around 11:55pm, and our 45 minute cab ride was filled with explosions of color in the sky. The fifth day, Po Wu (破五), is the birthday of the Chinese god of wealth. So on the night of the 4th (or at midnight on the morning of the 5th day of Chinese New Year), people use fireworks to greet a god fortune, and fireworks are supposed to encourage the god to bring wealth to one's family.
Of course we did not know this. 50 minutes of fireworks, all across one of the biggest cities in the world was simply one of the most surreal and amazing experiences I've ever had. Despite being exhausted the next day in work, taking the late flight on Sunday night was worth it, hands down.
1 comment:
I will never forget my Chinese New Year experience. It was like war, but beautiful. Nice blog.
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