Chinatown

With the Lunar New Year looming close, Chinatown (牛车水) was buzzing with hawkers selling celebration goodies. It's Year of the Rabbit in 2011.

Buildings have been decorated with flowers and well wishes (couplets)



Rows and rows of makeshift stalls line both sides of the street



Charms that people hang in their cars, on purses, anywhere



Windmills blessed at the Wong Tai Xin Temple in Hong Kong, believed to
change the previous year's bad luck when the wheel turns with the help of the wind



Auspicious Chinese sayings to be stuck to the doors



Dried preserved meats (duck, leg of ham, Chinese sausages) -- in the past, these were prepared
to tide over the winter months when people could not go out to hunt.
The meats are either salted or sugared. It's now become a tradition to have these.



More accessories for decorating the house



Lanterns and decorations to ignite the celebrative mood 



Not forgetting the flowers



These cheery windmills are for the kids



These knotted tassles can be added to lanterns or hung on their own. Very colourful.




Mustn't forget the lanterns



Chinese lions (These were what I thought Jane had in mind in the early days of the 2011 TIAS)



Other finds -- big calligraphy brushes



And dolls of the different Chinese tribal peoples

It's the fourth day of the CNY celebrations today. This festival is celebrated for 15 days and kids can continue to collect angbaos (aka hongbaos 红包) till the last day. Families usually gather for a huge feast from the eve through the 15th day.

Here's wishing my Chinese friends

Gong Hei Fatt Choy 恭禧发财

Hope you'd enjoyed some eye candy here.