With countdown to the grand traditional Chinese Spring Festival, scenic spots in North China's Shanxi province, such as dwellings, inns, courtyards, ancient cities, and temples, have been decorated with lanterns and paper cuts, and readied for festival entertainment activities and performances to demonstrate a festive flavor in Northern China.

As facilities and infrastructure improve, many scenic spots become perfect places for tourists to experience Chinese traditional Spring Festival. The following are some good choices for tourists and residents to try in the holiday.

The Datong Ancient Capital Lantern Show

Time: Feb 9-28 (the 2nd to 21st day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar)

The Spring Festival lantern show will consist of groups of traditional festive lanterns, modern lamps with sound and light, and projection lamplights on city walls. Along with the show, there will be a display of cultural heritages like craft arts and folk artworks.

Celebration activities in the Imperial City House

Time: Feb 2 -23 (the 1st to 16th day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar)

The celebration activities will present exhibitions of lanterns, local snacks, and folk custom entertainment. Boisterous streets with crowds of people will seem to reproduce the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).

Traditional Chinese New Year in the Ancient City of Pingyao

Time: Feb 1-23 (the 23rd day of the last month to the 16th day of the first month of the next year in the Chinese lunar calendar)

The "Chinese New Year in the Ancient City of Pingyao", a ten-year event listed on the UNESCO world cultural heritage site, will display the authentic Spring Festival folk culture of North China, including traditional Chinese operas, Spring Festival scrolls, paper cutting, and lanterns during the festival period, until Feb 23.

Tourists can be totally immersed in the strong atmosphere of traditional Chinese New Year by living in traditional dwellings, trying a Chinese New Year's Eve family dinner, making dumplings, writing Spring Festival scrolls, pasting paper cuts, and enjoying various local operas and performances.

The fair of the Temple of Emperor Yao

Time: Feb 8-27 (The 1st to 20th day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calendar)

Going to a temple fair is a pleasant thing for people to do during Spring Festival, and the fair held in the Temple of Emperor Yao has a long history dating back to the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

Visiting the temple, worshiping ancestors, experiencing folk customs, and celebrating Spring Festival are the themes of the fair where citizens are able to see traditional hand-made crafts and enjoy local performances.