China celebrates Christmas on the sly despite a Covid-19 epidemic under control
Woman Photographs AP Christmas Decorations - Ng Han Guan
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Christmas at six in France, four in Korea or ban on inviting friends like in Montreal, New Years Eve this December 24 evening will necessarily be different from the previous ones because of the health crisis and the barrier measures in the face of the epidemic.
Even in China, where the epidemic is under control, Christmas is not really Christmas.
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With our correspondent in Beijing,
Stéphane Lagarde
Giant bells whose contours recall the golden ribbons of gift packages, musical swings have replaced Christmas decorations in this commercial district in central Beijing.
The golden youth, too, is swinging in front of the smartphones of friends.
But for the atmosphere,
“
It's not really Christmas,
” this loving couple tells us.
There are no lights, there are no decorations, and above all, a large tree is missing.
"
In the Wangfujin district, these hurried saleswomen, like these tourists from Hong Kong, saw nothing either.
Apart from hotels and a few shopping centers, the situation is the same everywhere this winter in Beijing: Christmas decorations are rare in shop windows.
It has now been several years since instructions have been passed in universities, in some in cities to prevent the public celebration of a holiday considered to be the bearer of negative foreign influence.
“Usually I don't participate in foreign festivities,
writes historian Zhang Lifan on Twitter.
But since they banned it, I decided to celebrate Christmas.
"
A ban that does not surprise this public servant, chapka on his head and large fleece coat.
“There is no Christmas tree this year, but it was already the case last year.
And for the decorations, the stores have done the minimum.
Maybe it will come back when there are more foreigners.
"
Borders still closed
With the pandemic, Chinese borders remain locked and few foreigners are there.
“
It's not really Christmas
tell us these two managers of the promotion of a shop pulling two white carts loaded with posters.
We invited the public to crack eggshells to forget about 2020. ”
A year without Christmas, even in Yiwu in southern China where nearly 600 factories produce 80% of Christmas decorations and 96% of artificial trees sold in the world, production in this "covid year" would have decreased by 50% .
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