|
|
 |
China, Asia Welcome the Year of the Rabbit
By Heda Bayron, VoA News
January 28, 2011 - Bangkok - Millions of Asians mark the start of a new Lunar New Year on February
3. The year of the rabbit is expected to bring some uncertainty.
Across China, millions of people already have commenced sometimes
days-long journey to return to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year
celebrations.
Most factories and offices are closed for several days starting
Saturday, and migrant workers from the cities pack trains and buses. For
some it is their only chance to see their families each year. The
Ministry of Railways forecast 230 million passengers this season, up
12.5 percent from last year.
Some will head Hong Kong, where the Tourism Board has spent about $2
million to attract mainland tourists to its annual New Year’s parade.
Residents of Hong Kong and Taiwan also are traveling, with flights
booked months ago, to take advantage of the three-day holiday.
In the Chinese almanac, the year that starts February 3rd year will be
the year of the rabbit - which Chinese feng shui experts say is marked
by volatility and conflicts.
Feng shui is a popular Chinese system of harmonizing nature’s elements -
water, wood, earth, fire and metal.
Investment bank CLSA Asia Pacific Markets publishes an annual feng shui
report on the stock market. This year, the report tells investors to buy
metal, marine, airline, financial and gaming stocks to take advantage of
the strong metal and water elements during a rabbit year.
Philip Chow, an analyst at CLSA in Hong Kong, says earth-related stocks
will lag behind.
"The presence of wood is bad for earth in Chinese feng shui," said Chow.
"The relatively unexciting sectors would include real estate,
construction and building materials."
Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Vietnam will also be celebrating the
new Lunar New Year. Although Thailand marks its new year separately, in
Bangkok, large department stores display rabbit decorations and showcase
Chinese food.
But higher food prices damp the celebratory atmosphere. In Vietnam,
consumers complain about expensive cooking oil, vegetables, fruit and
even the flowers used for traditional decorations. Consumer prices in
January surged more than 12 percent.
In Taipei, the city government says prices of popular holiday foods have
risen as much as 13 percent from last year. In mainland China, inflation
reached 4.6 percent in December.
Also of Interest from the AAV Archives
|
