How expats celebrated Chinese Spring Festival in 2015

Pierre Ryter from Switzerland is head of the East Asia regional delegation, the International Committee of the Red Cross. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

It was the first Spring Festival holiday that I have spent in Beijing, though I have held the ICRC's Beijing position since the end of 2013.

The Chinese capital was quiet and had little traffic during that particular period. It was a perfect time to explore the hutong, historical attractions and other must-see places. If anyone wants to know the city, I recommend foreign tourists visit during the Chinese holiday, which may be the quietest time of the year.

As a loyal fan of Yongjiu (Forever), a Shanghai bike brand familiar to Chinese, I rode on my Yongjiu bike every day to make a new adventure. I visited some well-known parts of the city, such as the 798 Art Zone, Temple of Heaven and Lama Temple.

When millions of Chinese people leave the capital, Beijing looks like an empty city. It provided me a unique opportunity to explore all the places that I've never discovered before.

2015 is the Year of Goat. The Chinese version of horoscope believes in a tradition that the people should wear red underwear in the animal year they were born. Red can drive away evil spirits and bad luck. The animal recycles every 12 years. My "goat" colleague bought a pair of red underwear. Though I was not a "goat" guy, I wore a red jacket all through the holiday.

On Feb 18, New Year's Eve, the sky was very pure. But after one night, on the morning of Feb 19, it was hazy and smoky. The pollution was very high. So many firecrackers and fireworks were set off on the eve. I loved the beautiful scenes, but it created so much noise and smoke. It was a bit scary, as you didn't know where and when the firecrackers would explode.

The festival was a good time to watch some classic Chinese movies. One that impressed me is Beijing Bicycle (a 2001 winner of Berlin Silver Bear award). It tells a tale of a young man from a rural area who gets an express delivery job in Beijing. He rides a mountain bike every day to deliver goods.