Modern twists on an ancient tradition

(Ecns.cn)--Spring Festival is one of the oldest traditions in China and widely known for its family reunions, feasting and gift-giving, yet nowadays more and more people are adopting new ideas about how to spend it – ideas that better suit their modern lifestyles.

New year, new look

Changing hairstyles, buying new clothes and pampering oneself are common practices before Spring Festival, as many hope that a new look will bring good luck. But as an increasing number of people in China also think of their house pets as family members, such pampering is no longer limited to human beings.

"We are very busy these days, and have to groom dozens of pets a day," said the owner of a pet shop in Beijing just two days before the festival holiday started. Pet owners flocked to shops seeking services like pet grooming and styling, as well as new toys and other items.

The process of grooming covers bathing, shearing and nail treatments, all of which takes as long as an hour. After the grooming, owners often buy their pets new clothes. "The New Year festival is mostly for humans, but this year I want my dog to celebrate it with us," said a woman at the shop.

By the beginning of January, business at pet shops had grown rapidly. Nearly twice as many customers came to buy new clothes for their pets, and more people also stopped in seeking information about pet grooming, according to the manager.

Eating out, eating conveniently

Booking a restaurant for a family reunion dinner to celebrate Spring Festival has become a popular trend for more Chinese families in recent years. "Traditionally, we liked to cook at home for the reunion dinner, but now it seems more convenient to eat out," said a man in Xi'an who booked his family in at a four-star restaurant.

"In the past, my mother and family stored many raw foods long before New Year's Eve, and spent a long day cooking for the reunion dinner, which was very tiring," said the man.

"This year, I hope to have more time to communicate with my family and 'liberate' my mother and my wife from the tedious cooking process," he added.

His attitude is not uncommon. More people are freeing their family members from the home cooking process, while holding on to the meaning of the family reunion dinner, making restaurants a happy choice.

Many restaurants and hotels were already fully booked by December 2011. According to one five-star hotel, meals for the lunar New Year's Eve often cost around 5,000 yuan (US$792), and those with better recipes can go as high as 10,000 yuan (US$1,584).

"The meal may be a bit expensive, but it can provide my family with more time and energy to reunite and talk to each other, which is more important for me," said the man.

Touring the New Year

For many young people who work hard the whole year round, taking a break during the New Year festival is a good chance to relax and meet new people.

"Diving at the tropical resort island in Hainan Province or skiing in the coldest area of Heilongjiang Province would be my choices for New Year festival," said Xiao Qing, a white collar in Beijing.

During this year's festival, over 565,000 tourists swarmed into the city of Yichang, home of the Three Gorges Dam in central China's Hubei Province, bringing in 192 million yuan (US$30.45 million) in tourism-related revenue.

"During the workdays, we do not have enough time to travel far to resorts, and since my family all have time during the New Year festival, we decided to come and see the Three Gorges Dam," said Li Xiang, who lives and works in Xiamen, Fujian Province.

According to the National Tourism Administration, China's tourism revenue rose 23.6 percent during the Spring Festival holiday from the same period last year, reaching 101.4 billion yuan (US$15.6 billion).