Beijing gets spooky for Halloween

Wednesday marks Halloween, a time of year when people in the West traditionally dress up in scary costumes and go trick-or-treating. In recent years, the October 31 festival has grown in popularity among young Chinese. How will you celebrate Halloween in Beijing? How do you celebrate it in your home country? What do you think about the festival's growing popularity in China? Jiang Jie and Liu Yixin hit the streets to find out.

Jason Kram, antique dealer, US

I would personally prefer to do nothing for Halloween, but I have to be at work and join a party. Though Halloween is regarded as a favorite time for children, it is now more of an adult holiday. It is the No.2 holiday in the US behind Christmas as far as consumer spending goes. Kids usually go trick-or-treating, but they don't do it as often as they used to. In China, the vast majority of people do not pay attention to it. Can you imagine kids wandering in the hutong trick-or-treating?

Kevin Berne, teacher, Canada

I don't have plans for Halloween because I have no time for it. If I had my family around, we would probably all get together to celebrate. In Beijing, Halloween is all symbolic. It is not something deeply rooted in Chinese culture. Personally, I'm not really into Halloween. Christmas is fine, but Halloween is more for kids.

Michael Slater, mechanical engineer, US　

I am going to dress up as Jason Voorhees from the [American slasher movie] Friday the 13th (1980). In Beijing, it is not that easy to find costumes necessary for Halloween. In any case, only foreigners seem to celebrate it at least here in China. Nobody really cares in Beijing besides us [foreigners]. It's mainly a day for the kids, but you can also take the opportunity to relax and have fun.

William Walker, project manager, UK

I am going to a bar for a Halloween-themed party with a few friends. I will dress as a sailor. I think the main difference between China and the UK is that people still aren't completely comfortable with the tradition of wearing fancy dress. This means that the participants are fewer and the atmosphere is definitely not as fun.

Katherine Sibanza, teacher, South Africa

Nowadays, people around the world are always borrowing ideas from others and sharing different festivals. Since China has opened up to the world, some new customs, such as celebrating Halloween, have been embraced. Some Chinese accept this. At my school, we've decorated the classrooms. Some teachers have already bought their costumes and kids are going to a dance on Wednesday.

Isabel Nepstad, teacher, US

I teach at a kindergarten, so I'm going to dress up as a witch and build a candy house with my students. Beijing has not got a strong Halloween atmosphere. In fact, many people have no idea about it at all. When I was buying my costume and materials for Halloween celebrations at a market, it was really difficult for me to explain I was looking for items for wanshengjie ("Halloween" in Chinese). People just looked bewildered and replied me, "What? What?"