The New Year's celebrations begin with great anticipation as decorations went up around our complex - including a carousel style horse - this year is the Year of the Horse - at the complex entrance.
We knew the New Year's celebration was close when we began to see the extra fruit boxes and fireworks being sold in our neighborhood.
There were also some great displays at our local mall - including a three story tall red horse.
We also got a great family picture at the base of the horse, which we then climbed and shot an arrow off in hopes of winning a prize.
On New Year's Eve (Jan 30, 2014) Emily cooked an amazing meal, which included fish - an essential dish in a Chinese New Year's meal
After dinner we went to our neighbor's house to set off fireworks - the kids had a blast.
The fireworks climaxed at mid-night and here is a short video I shot from the 33rd floor of our building
On New Year's Day (Jan 31) we went across town to with our good friends the Bowmans where the kids had a blast - including setting up a "Kids Cafe" and serving the dads.
After time with the Bowmans we had a chance to take a short train ride to nearby Kun Shan with families who are part of our home school coop. Miriam had a blast at the party with one of her good friends from coop - Haley.
We spent the next several days of the holiday at a hotel downtown in order to avoid the nosiest fireworks. Near downtown in the Yu Garden area there were some impressive lantern displays with traditional Chinese New Year scenes.
Unexpectedly, there was also a "Garden of Eden" lantern display where Adam and Eve were standing next to Jesus with a white horse.
From our hotel room - on the 33rd floor - we had a great view of downtown.
This is the westward view of People's Square, which was the horse racing track during Shanghai's colonial days.
From the eastward view there was a nice view of downtown Shanghai - including the Pearl Tower (lit up in red) and the Shanghai Financial Center (lit up in blue).
One of the highlights of our time at the hotel was the great view of the fireworks that were lit off at mid-night to celebrate the arrival of the god of wealth. The fireworks culminate about 2 minutes into the video.
After time with the Bowmans we had a chance to take a short train ride to nearby Kun Shan with families who are part of our home school coop. Miriam had a blast at the party with one of her good friends from coop - Haley.
We spent the next several days of the holiday at a hotel downtown in order to avoid the nosiest fireworks. Near downtown in the Yu Garden area there were some impressive lantern displays with traditional Chinese New Year scenes.
Unexpectedly, there was also a "Garden of Eden" lantern display where Adam and Eve were standing next to Jesus with a white horse.
From our hotel room - on the 33rd floor - we had a great view of downtown.
This is the westward view of People's Square, which was the horse racing track during Shanghai's colonial days.
From the eastward view there was a nice view of downtown Shanghai - including the Pearl Tower (lit up in red) and the Shanghai Financial Center (lit up in blue).
One of the highlights of our time at the hotel was the great view of the fireworks that were lit off at mid-night to celebrate the arrival of the god of wealth. The fireworks culminate about 2 minutes into the video.
