A noisy New Year's Eve

From our 17th floor vantage, Beijing's skyline is bubbling. It's midnight and everywhere there are hundreds if not thousands of fireworks displays which have been going on for six hours non-stop and there's no sign of a let-up. It looks and sounds like the allied bombing of Baghdad. Goodness knows how much has been spent on it, and how our poor girls have slept through it.

Earlier, we went to a traditional Temple Fair in Ditan Park. Full of stalls selling food and festival tat, with the occasional show thrown in for good measure. We watched an impromptu performance by migrant oldies - the men playing traditional instruments, the ladies dancing in colourful garb. But I hear this sort of thing is slowly dying out.

And then on TV there was the big Spring Festival gala special watched by some 700 million people. We watched a bit of it: comedy, dancing, acrobatics, singing, the works. Very commercial, very OTT and completely over our heads.

Out with the Tiger and in with the Rabbit...