2016年CRI Preparations for the Chinese Lunar New Year Kicked into High Gear

 

Preparations for the Chinese New Year are well underway in Beijing with streets and parks lined with decorations.

At Wukesong New Year market, all manner of lanterns and decorations, many in the shape of the monkey, are on sale.

Liang Jianfeng took his three-year-old son to the market for some toys, and says the decorations and lanterns offer more variety than they did in previous years.

"The goods are wider in variety than before. Look at these pendants, haven't seen many of them before. They all look beautiful and bright in color, and they are very traditional."

As the Year of the Monkey draws near, many stores in Shanghai are seeing a hustle¹ and bustle² of people picking up food for the festival.

This year, Shanghaiers are in the mood for some exotic tastes.

Imported food products are gaining in popularity among people in Shanghai during the traditional festival.

"I will buy Chinese snacks such as pork jerky and pecans. I also want to try something new like chocolate and fruit candies from Japan,"

Teng Shuqiong, manager of Shanghai First Foodhall, says the sales of imported foods have been climbing for this year's festival.

"The variety of imported foods in our store has increased greatly, up by about 20 percent from the previous year."

Online retailers³ are also noticing an increase in the sales of imported foods.

Cui Wanqian, manager of Shanghai Fun Q Network Tech, says American potato chips and Japanese snacks are among the best sellers.

"Chocolate, biscuits and nuts are the most popular imported food products on our website, as such snacks can be shared when family members gather. The potato chips from the United States and Japanese snacks are among the most favored." 

Elsewhere in China, residents and visitors in north China's Tianjin Municipality swarmed⁴ into the century-old Cultural Street, which has come to life with various decorations, lanterns and streamers. It's said no one left the market without purchasing something.

In Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, the street markets are filled with shoppers who are busy choosing traditional Chinese snacks and customary New Year's goods.

But there is one thing you might not be able to purchase this holiday, as several cities curbed⁵ or limitedthe selling and lighting⁶ of fireworks during the fest.

Zhengzhou, Shanghai, and Hangzhou all banned fireworks this year, while Beijing has put on strict limits, whereby residents can only light fireworks between 7 in the morning and midnight.

For CRI, this is Min Rui.

1 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

2 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

3 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

4 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

5 curbed   

v.限制，克制，抑制( curb的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Advertising aimed at children should be curbed. 针对儿童的广告应受到限制。 来自辞典例句
• Inflation needs to be curbed in Russia. 俄罗斯需要抑制通货膨胀。 来自辞典例句

6 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。