Ancestral Smoke

According to the Chinese lunar calendar, Saturday evening marked the first day of the Year of the Pig. Standing at the Wudaokou boulevard at midnight, the entire city erupted in the sound of thousands of fireworks igniting simultaneously. Bottlerockets, flashbangs, noisemakers and firecrackers were lit from roofops and bus stands; families fired Roman candles from their apartment windows and still others threw canisters of explosives from footbridges spanning the wide, empty streets. Monolithic clouds of smoke and gunpowder drifted between buildings as the celebration of Chunjie continued until early the next morning.
The following days were reserved for rest, ancestor worship and prayer for good fortune in the coming year. At this time the gongyuan and holy sites are filled with families in worship. The temples reeked of musty, ancient wood and the acrid taste of candlesticks lit in offering to the Buddha. The below photos were taken at two such sites over the last few days.

A Tibetan prayer wheel.

Making an offering.

Temple grounds.

Ancestral fire trough.