Microblog becomes popular way for young people to celebrate New Year

As Chinese people are savoring a week of holidays, family reunions and feasting, microblogging is emerging as a new way for the young generation to celebrate the traditional holiday.

Weibo, or microblogs, online communication tools which have really become an established part of Chinese culture in the past year, look likely to replace text messages as the most popular way of sending New Year's best wishes.

According to official statistics released by Sina Weibo, China's largest microblogging service provider, 32,312 posts were published at 12:00 a.m. on January 23, the very first second of the Lunar New Year. That figure is three times higher than last year, and the total posts related to New Year on Weibo.com reached 481,207 in the first minute of the Year of the Dragon.

Liu Feng wished all his friends a happy New Year on Weibo.com and attached a photo of the exploding fireworks he had just set off.

Liu, a white collar worker in Yancheng, northeastern Jiangsu Province, who used to send New Year text messages to his friends and colleagues in the past, said microblogging is more convenient and far-reaching than cell phones.

"In the past, I sometimes felt bored with the text messages that arrived on my cell phone one after another because I have to reply to each individual one in turn, out of respect," he said. "But most of the messages are not created by the sender themselves. They were received from somewhere else and forwarded to me.

"I came across it several times that the messages I received from my friends still had the names of the last sender. To me, it is a little disrespectful because it shows you did not even read the texts before sending them."

The characteristics of microblogging are also helping it to become the most fashionable way to wish people well for the New Year.

"Microblogging is more interactive compared with text messages. Through comments and replies, I can communicate with my friends one-to-one and get the latest updates on their life," said Li Pei, a university student in Beijing.

"I hear from friends who are now pursing their degrees in Britain, who said they had even felt the atmosphere of a traditional Chinese New Year online through the microblog."

Besides the New Year wishes and celebrations, the Spring Festival TV gala is the most discussed issue on microblog websites. The topic "grumble at the 2012 Spring Festival TV gala" has outnumbered other topics, with over 65 million comments, and become the hottest topic of both Monday and Tuesday on Weibo.com.

The gala is an annual grand celebration broadcast by the China Central Television on the eve of the traditional Spring Festival and has been held for 30 years since 1983. It is the most-watched TV event in China and has become a very important part of Chinese New Year culture.

Jin Min, a student from Nanjing Normal University, said, "Reading microblog users' comments about the TV gala is far more interesting than watching the TV gala itself. Chinese netizens are so talented and their witty and funny comments made me laugh."

Like Jin, many Internet users posted comments on microblog accounts. For example, some users pointed out that one famous female actress went out of tune when singing on stage; some revealed the secret of a magic trick less than 10 minutes after it was performed; and some complained that the comic operas and cross talks were as boring as the year before.

Microblogs made people feel they were watching the gala "sitting together in the audience by the stage," said Jin.

Celebrating the New Year with Weibo broke through the restrictions of traditional methods, complementing real life, said Zhou Xiaozheng, a professor of sociology with the Beijing-based People's University of China.

"Words, pictures, photos and even videos can spread through microblogs so that people better communicate with each other. Celebrating with the help of the new method can be considered as inheriting traditional culture, especially during the Lunar New Year," Zhou continued.

But Zhou also warned communication in virtual space can not replace face-to-face interaction. He urged young people to seize the opportunity to spend more time with their parents, family members and friends during the Spring Festival holiday.

"Lunar New Year is a symbol of Chinese tradition," said Zhou. "Loving and caring for our family and friends is the most important part of it."