2016年CRI Preparations for the Chinese Lunar New Year Kicked into High Gear（在线收听）

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 hustle and bustle 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 retailers 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 swarmed 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 curbed or limitedthe selling and lighting 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.