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TITLE: THE LANTERN FESTIVAL
LOCATION: LIAOYANG (辽阳)
MISSION: KEEP MY TOES WARM
DATE: 2012-02-06
Today was the 15th day of the new year according to the lunar calendar. It marks the end of the Spring Festival and is celebrated by sending lanterns into the sky and watching fireworks. The temperature hit -20° tonight, which made it somewhat challenging to enjoy the festivities. Furthermore, there was soooo much people out on the streets that it was difficult to move. We had to park the car early to get a spot at all and then have dinner later in the evening (around 20:00). Just the thought of confronting the cold on an empty stomache made in cringe, so the first thing I did was wolfing down a couple of Snickers. We spent an hour and a half in the square and parks around the White Pagoda, watching the fireworks end enjoying the atmosphere. As if it was not cold enough, there were merry-go-arounds available. I can't imagine how cold it must have been riding that thing. We tried to send a lantern skywards, but it turned out to be ripped at the top and thus wouldn't take off. Note to self: next time, bring two. Around then we decided that enough was enough (our toes were all almost frozen) and we went back to Shoushan for dinner. We tried a new place where they specialized in traditional Beijing coal-based hotpot, which was really nice. The evening was then rounded off with some singing. Since it is now officially spring, the temperature will hopefully catch on and act like proper spring.