In a chronological twist of fate, the world's two most watched television programs -- China Central Television's annual Spring Festival Gala and the NFL Super Bowl -- were broadcast within 12 hours of each other. Now that all that exciting TV watching is over, here are some other things you can do on the first day of Spring Festival:
Pray for New Year Blessings at the Lama Temple: If you want to celebrate Spring Festival up close with a whole lot of other Beijingers, the Lama Temple is where it's at, at least on Monday. This isn't a temple fair, so don't expect much beyond burning incense and scads of high school students praying that they get accepted into university later this year. Just be aware that Yonghegong Dajie is closed to vehicular traffic, and a large number of nearby subway station entrances and exits are closed or one-way. Read more about that here.
Start ticking off the list of temple fairs: Temple fairs are the traditional thing to do during Spring Festival. Total numbers are limited this year, so earlier will be better. See our list of the fairs and use them as a way to go to parts of Beijing you don't normally visit.
Party like it's...whatever year this is with Puzzystack: Spring Festival is more about the animal year than a particular point in time. Anyway, get that monkey business out of your system early with PuzzyStackand his crew future ruffians. Not just another cleverly named DJ, he will be posturing out some delicious techno jams that will get you swinging from the rafters with minimal effort. Free. 10pm. Dada.
Ron Mexico takes over The Local: Ron Mexico, one of our favorite Beijing bars, will takeover The Local after the Super Bowl. Rest assured Ron Mexico makes mean cocktails and awesome bar snacks. More about that here.
And it is, after all, Monday: Check our list of Monday deals to see where you can save some money. But please, for the love of monkey, call your venue of choice to make sure it's open before going there. See our other list of openings and closings as a general guide.
Photo: Wikimedia
By:Steven Schwankert(thebeijinger)
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