New Years (gripe)

China, as we all know, is a HUGE country in terms of both land and population. A mind blowing 1.3 BILLION Chinese souls stretch from the harsh northern province of Heilongjiang, all the way down to the balmy Guandong region. From the chaotic, skyscraper teeming Shanghai, to poor, peaceful, disputed Lhasa, a fifth of the world's people are scattered everywhere.

1.3 billion people. That's a lot of folks, all running around, working, going about their business, falling into love, out of love, and generally, living. Imagine, if you will, the sheer effort involved to keep a population of this magnitude in check. Complete anarchy can only be a vicious government rumour away. And, with the exception of, say, a few hundred million or so, each individual has a cognitive role to play in this massive undertaking, whether it's the guy on the street selling the cigarettes that oils the gears of social interaction which in turn keeps the hospitals in patients, or maybe the new woman manager of a ball bearing factory, sending her little steel balls of fun out to every movable and portative mechanism producer under the sun. Everyone has a purpose.

Which, ladies and gentlemen, begs the question: how does a country with a citizenry of this enormity completely shut down for two whole weeks?

It's Chinese New Year, and everyone save the sorry slice who work in the catering or entertainment sectors have gone back home for the holidays. It's a time for being with your family and eating as much food as humanly possible - much like Christmas in the west. This I have no problem with, but what I find bizarre is that in a country this size practially every business is closed for the entire duration.

Which of course is bad news for us and our fledgling wee export business. We have entered into a partnership with a factory in Suzhou; they have all gone home and we can't get in touch with anyone. The shipping company we use cease operations tomorrow, to be resumed at an undisclosed date. Basically everyone we deal with on the China side has stopped working. This, would be fantastic (holiday!) if we didn't have the other side - the customers - who live in the west and have no interest in what goes on over here!

But at least I get to play with lots of fireworks! (Until very recently fireworks of any description have been completely banned in Norn Irun . Something to do with the potential our resident paramilitaries had for abusing them....)

Goodbye fingers.