China News Service, Chengdu, February 5th: Hong Kong-style Poon Choi and Sichuan-style sausages: Hong Kong people in Sichuan enjoy "double flavors" during the Spring Festival.
Author Yue Yitong Chen Xuanbin
Team building, taking inventory, cleaning the whole store, and giving red envelopes to employees who have been busy for a year... On the 5th, Lin Shanshan, a Hong Konger who runs a second-hand luxury store in Chengdu, ended the busy days and closed the store to enter "New Year mode" ": Buying new clothes for relatives, buying cakes and other new year's goods, and then preparing to leave with her husband to return to his hometown in Dazhou, Sichuan.
Different from the arrangement of only celebrating the holidays in one place in previous years, Lin Shanshan's family planned "two steps" for this year's Spring Festival: going to her husband's hometown for a reunion from New Year's Eve to the fourth day of the first lunar month, and then bringing back Sichuan-style sausages made by her mother-in-law. Hong Kong, returning to Chengdu after the Lantern Festival. She said that although the customs of the two places are different, the flavor of the New Year is very strong.
Recently, Lin Shanshan and her husband were shopping for new year goods. (Photo provided by interviewee)
There are dense round-trip routes, and the Chengdu-Hong Kong high-speed rail, which takes up to 8 hours and 13 minutes for a one-way trip, is open without hindrance. The Hong Kong SAR government will implement special customs clearance arrangements during the Spring Festival... As the convenience of traveling between the two places increases, Hong Kong people working and living in Sichuan do not have to worry. "Where to celebrate the New Year?" One Spring Festival holiday is enough to enjoy the customs of both places and enjoy the "double flavor" of the festival.
For example, New Year’s Eve dinner. Poon Choi filled with chicken, pork, seafood, vegetables and other ingredients is indispensable on the dining table of Hong Kong people. The family sits around the fire and talks about their New Year expectations while the steaming heat is rising. In Sichuan, there are cold dishes, bacon, sausages, chicken, duck and fish, and the dishes are more abundant. “My relatives and friends all have a dish of crispy pea tip broth on their dining tables. I love spicy sausages and steamed pork ribs.” Lin Shanshan said with a smile.
Such as red envelopes and red packets. "Congratulations on getting rich, good luck will come." The amount of Hong Kong lucky money is small, mostly ranging from a few yuan to dozens of Hong Kong dollars, mainly to please the lottery. Sichuan red envelopes are basically "lucky money", and the amount is usually a few hundred yuan.
"When I celebrated the New Year in Sichuan for the first time, I was a little uncomfortable with the New Year customs here, but after experiencing it, I became more and more aware of the fun and became more integrated." Lin Shanshan said that her work and life in Sichuan are going smoothly. I hope to use my own experience to inspire more Hong Kong young people to visit the mainland, experience the culture and look for opportunities.
A couple of Hong Kong entrepreneurs who have been developing in Sichuan for many years - Hong Zhenyuan, executive director of Crown City Group, and Xu Zhaoer, managing director of Yingfu Education Group, have also made a "double flavor" holiday plan this year: first bring their children to Chengdu to experience the "Sichuan flavor" New Year customs, Return to Hong Kong to celebrate spring festivals, eat Poon Choi and distribute red packets.
Sichuan food is "a favorite" of Hong Zhenyuan and his wife. Hong Zhenyuan said that Sichuan tea, Sichuan wine, Sichuan-style sausages and bacon are indispensable on the list of must-buy items for the Spring Festival every year. Especially the spicy and fragrant Sichuan-style sausages and mellow-tasting bacon will also be brought to Hong Kong as New Year gifts. Relatives and friends, "everyone loves it."
Hong Zhenyuan's family puts up Spring Festival couplets at their home in Chengdu. (Photo provided by interviewee)
Xu Zhaoer told reporters that for this year’s New Year’s Eve dinner, they plan to take their children to a Sichuan restaurant to taste the taste of Sichuan. "Although my children often come to Chengdu during holidays, this is the first time I have taken them to celebrate the New Year in Sichuan." During the holiday, I plan to go to the Zigong Lantern Festival and climb Qingcheng Mountain. "I hope to experience a different New Year flavor from Hong Kong."
Xu Zhaoer observed that many Hong Kong friends around him often travel to the mainland, and many people are willing to go to the mainland to celebrate the New Year. "Friends will meet up to take their children to Sichuan during the holidays. One week is not enough."
In fact, for Hong Kong people working hard in the mainland, commuting between the two places is a normal life. In the midst of their exchanges, they have become the "spokesmen" for the deepening exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland.
Hong Zhenyuan and his wife have long been committed to promoting youth exchanges between Sichuan and Hong Kong. Xu Zhaoer said that the Sanxingdui cultural relics were previously exhibited in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong people responded enthusiastically, making them full of curiosity and expectations for Sichuan. In the new year, they hope to organize more Hong Kong students to visit Sichuan to experience different cultures. (over)