On the eve of Spring Festival, Zhao Lele, a 24-year-old project manager from
Chongqing, was at home with his family.
But, he wasn't watching CCTV's Spring Festival Gala or playing mah-jong with
his parents. And he wasn't catching up with his parents while munching on
holiday treats.
Zhao, like many young Chinese, spent the lunar New Year's Eve chatting to his
friends online and sending mobile phone text messages.
"The Spring Festival is quite boring for me, because all of my friends must
be at home with families and nobody can party with me," said Zhao. "So I turn to
the Internet."
The Internet is changing Spring Festival in major ways.
Chinese used to have few choices during the holiday: watch TV, go shopping to
buy presents or wait for hours in an endless queue to buy a train ticket back
home and back to work or study after the festival is over. But now, young people
have created their own online alternatives.
Since 1983, the entire nation has tuned into CCTV's gala on the eve of Spring
Festival for a mix of traditional performances and pop stars. But starting this
year, major Chinese Internet portals, including Sohu.com, Tom.com, and Sino.com,
in conjunction with Kook.com, began their own gala.
"The Spring Festival party on CCTV has run too many years without changing,"
said Jia Yuming, a 30-year-old graphic designer from Beijing who watched the
gala. "Younger people always want to see something new, including me. And the
Internet provides them what they want."
