City's Spring Festival Celebration Events Recommended

A variety of events including bell tolling, healthy run and ascending activities will beheld across the city to celebrate the start of 2017, Shanghai`s tourism authorities announced today.

The Longhua Temple in Xuhui District will host its traditional bell-tolling ceremony at midnight on the New Year Eve.

A bronze bell will be struck 108 times to absolve sins and bring good luck.

Visitors are also invited to eat bowls of noodles and hang their wishes on tree branches to welcome the New Year.

The Baohua Temple in Jing` an District and Donglin Temple in Jinshan District will host bell-tolling events as well with tea ceremony performances.

The landmark Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong New Area will host its annual traditional climbing event on the New Year day. In China, it is a tradition to ascend high on the first day of a new year because it is believed to bring good luck and signify a good start.

The Shanghai Botanical Garden in Xuhui will host a wood sorrel exhibition during the New Year holiday, with about 120 varieties of the plants on display, while the Shanghai Happy Valley in Songjiang will present fireworks shows on the New Year Eve and the New Year day with the park illuminated by about 10 million lights.

People are also able to apply for nongjiale (happy farmer house) tours involving picking tangerines, digging bamboo shoots, and farming in the lake area during the festival.