Lantern Festival

After spending almost the entire month of January in Thailand and Cambodia, I then took a three week plus trip to India. I will one day get around to posting my thoughts and pictures from that trip, which was a trip of a lifetime. But, on my first day back from India, I met back up with 真真, the senior student I have been dating since November. We didn't have huge plans for the evening, but her cousin had texted her saying that there was a huge gathering of people at Hongmei (Red Plum) Park, Changzhou's biggest park. So, we headed over, and even though it was Lantern Festival, I was still amazed at the sheer number of lanterns littering the sky. Lantern Festival is more or less the end of the celebrations for Chinese New Year (click links for more information). Now, I avoid being in China for the weeks before and after Chinese New Year because it is, quite possibly, the greatest human migration in the history of the world. The hundreds of millions of migrant workers that work in the coastal provinces return to the hinterland, then come back to the coastal cities. Additionally, any student that goes to school outside his hometown is further packing the buses and trains. I've had my share of travel craziness in China to know better than be here then. Additionally, besides the fireworks, Chinese New Year isn't much fun for me, as I have no family here with whom to sit around eat, drink, and play cards.

So, Lantern Festival was a great chance to see some Chinese New Year festivities and not have to deal with travel hell. The park was super crowded, and I mean that in a way that only those that have lived or visited China can truly understand. Imagine a peaceful city park with crowds not dissimilar of a rock concert in size and pushiness. The night sky was beautiful for its crowds though, as all the lanterns looked like bright, close stars. We had a good time walking around, successfully launching both of our lanterns, and taking a romantic boat ride around the pond, where 真真 and many other girls were launching floating candles. What I really enjoyed though, was seeing so many families or groups of friends relaxing as they ate some snacks, sipped a warm milk-tea, walked around or stopped to laugh and poke fun as they tried to launch their lanterns. Despite the large, pushy crowds, the park had a decidedly leisurely feeling that night, as so many people were just standing and looking up (although always aware not to be hit by an errant, low-flying lantern). China, although not my daily life here, is a very busy, fast, and sometimes reckless place, so it was great to experience a much calmer evening. I'm not sure quite how many trees or telephone poles caught on fire across the country, but the sky above the park was quite a sight.