Chinese New Year 2011

A red celebration in red China for the arrival of a white rabbit year

Most Chinese rabbits are white, snow white, and Rabbit in 2011 is even whiter since it is Metal in Five Agents, which is characterised by white colour.

While yang metal Tiger Year of 2010 seems to be restlessly upbeat and recklessly provocative, yin metal year of White Rabbit is expected to be a year of vigilance and wisdom, which is imperative in time of global uncertainty and turbulence, which can also be a course to foster a more constructive future.

Village lady: Nice job, President. Do you have the same red paper on the gate of your Middle-South Sea residence?

Chinese President and CCP Chief Hu Jintao traveled to greet villagers on Chinese New Year's Eve's eve and the Eve, including those at a village in Hebei Province where he stuck a red paper marked with Chinese blessing character on the front door of a village lady. Decorating the front gate with this auspicious character is a time honoured custom in China, a literature oriented nation.

President Hu inspected the old lady's kitchen to check how her steam-bun job is done.

Traditionally Chinese would cook buns, rice and all other dishes before New Year's Eve Dinner that would be enough to consume during the first week or so in the new year to symbolise that the last year's food is abundant for the next year.

Comrades in hands

The village lady is a Chinese Communist Party member who believes in common wealth and fairness for everyone in the nation.

(Photo courtesy of 李学仁 - 新华社)

Let me join your rank

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao joined an all female tuanzi / yuanzi-making club that was gathering for their annual meeting in an Anhui village.

Let me make you dinner

Premier Wen tried his egg soup cooking skills on an old fashioned brick stove that has a supporting wall and two large cast iron woks. The dishes cooked in such facilities are known to be the most delicious of all.

Note a little white rabbit image on the apron -- hope they do not cook dishes involving rabbit meat ...

Let's get rich together

In a living/dinning room with Chinese characteristics, which has a long alter placed before the north wall that is decorated with auspicious pictures and couplets, Premier Wen proposed a toast for a fairer social system and a better future that will help the nation to get rich together.