China Marks Lunar New Year's Eve

Beijing (Antara Bali) - From running trains to remote mountain villages, people across China are toasting and celebrating on Saturday, hoping the festive glee will mark the start of a better new year.

The Chinese Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival, falls on Sunday this year. Most Chinese spend the eve in sumptuous banquets, colorful fireworks and chats with family members while watching TV galas.

On a train leaving from Wuhan for Shiyan, patrolling stewards grabbed microphones to stage a gala for those who missed out the chance to be with their families.

Having performed an exotic dance and an opening song, 26-year-old stewardess Lin Lin won resounding ovation from the few passengers in the audience.

"I thought the New Year's Eve on the train must be particularly lonely and cheerless. I haven't expected such excitement," said Jia Zexi, who works as a chef in the central city of Wuhan.

As the most important occasion for family reunions, the Spring Festival is usually preceded by a period of national travel rush, as hundreds of millions of Chinese workers board trains, planes and long-distance buses to return to their hometowns.

In a village in China's mountainous Guizhou Province, local Buyi communities held banquets to mark the start of the new year and welcome the returning young who have worked in other parts of the country. (Xinhua-OANA/DWA/T007)