The Chinese New Year was ushered in this weekend in more subdued fashion than normal, with toned-down displays of fireworks and quieter restaurants following a government drive for frugality.
The crackle of fireworks still resounded throughout Beijing and illuminated the night sky to ring in the Year of the Snake, but the pyrotechnics were restrained compared with past holidays. Sales of fireworks in the five days leading up to the holiday were down 37 per cent from 2012, according to the city government.
This was partly a response to official appeals to light fewer fireworks to avoid adding to the capital’s air pollution, but it was also in line with an official push for less conspicuous spending amid a crackdown on corruption.
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