Week 18: R (continued)

Happy New Year! And RED is the color de rigueur here. Red is a symbol of luck and good fortune, so all the flower arrangements (these were all outside florists, but I'm not sure who buys them or what they do with them), calendars, etc. are in red. The Chinese don't celebrate the New Year with a massive countdown at midnight, but the schools and many businesses are closed today, and I've heard rumors of a fireworks display tonight.

Little RUSSIA? Yes! With its Northern ice-free port, Dalian has been a treasured prize of both the Russians and Japanese. Russia controlled Dalian from 1898-1905 and brought a bit of her architecture to a street right near the port. Although there are many Russians living in Dalian today (and most Chinese people assume that we are Russian when we walk down the street), the biggest traces of Russia that you will see on this street are the cheap nesting dolls for sale.