Following the lift of 12-year firecracker ban in the capital, Beijingers made up for lost time as they celebrated the coming of the Spring Festival and the Year of Dog.

    No serious injuries or fires were reported in the central areasof Beijing as the week-long holiday kicked off to a perfect start.

Cleaners sweep away the wastepaper of firecrackers in the street of Dalian, coastal city of northeast China's Liaoning Province Jan. 29.

    Today's newspapers all carried stories about how people around the country celebrated the auspicious Year of Dog in different ways - setting off firecrackers, eating dumplings, burning incense, visiting temple fairs and extending blessings to friends and family.

    The 1.3 billion Chinese people have every reason to revel at the beginning of a promising year to come.

    In 2005, China's GDP went up by 9.9 percent, maintaining a rapid growth rate that has lasted more than 20 years.

    Fast economic expansion has benefited all citizens: more and more people in rural areas have shrugged off poverty; urban residents are becoming increasingly wealthier.

A girl sets off the fireworks in western China's municipality Chongqing on Jan. 28. (Xinhua)

    A new survey has shown that one out of 10 Beijing residents nowowns a car, which was unimaginable a few years ago.

    The Chinese government has vowed to build a harmonious society,something the top authority has always emphasized. On the eve of the Spring Festival, President Hu Jintao traveled to Northwest China's Shaanxi Province to talk with local farmers and prepare food together with them for the festival. Premier Wen Jiabao stayed in a farmer's home on New Year's Eve in East China's Shandong Province.

    Chinese farmers were awarded a huge gift this year. Beginning Jan. 1, they are no longer required to pay agricultural taxes, marking the end of a tax that has been in place for 2,600 years.

    "We have more money to spend this year," said Shi Yunhao, a farmer in Doushan Village, Mengyin County of Shandong Province. His family of four paid agricultural taxes of 204.23 yuan (about 25.22 U.S. dollars) in 2004, 105.45 yuan in 2005, and now nothing in 2006.

    Official figures show that, compared with 1999, the overall financial burden on farmers has been cut by more than 100 billion yuan - about 800 million farmers have benefited from the new tax policy.

    Spring Festival is a time for family gatherings. People travel hundreds or even thousands of miles to be reunited with their loved ones. The Ministry of Railways announced on Saturday that inthe two weeks leading up to the Spring Festival, 49.39 million people traveled by train, up nearly 5 million over the same periodlast year.

    For the telecommunications industry, the week-long holiday means huge profits. More and more people are extending New Year's greetings by telephone or mobile phones. The total amount of text messages sent during the Spring Festival is expected to reach 12 billion.

    Some people are beginning to fear that due to increased economic globalization, the traditional Chinese festival is losingits true values and becoming too commercial. Many Chinese teenagers have added western festivals such as Christmas Day and Valentine's Day to their festive list, leaving the older generations nostalgic about Spring Festivals in old days.

    The return of firecrackers has even set off a heated public debate on whether it is time to adopt more measures to protect the cultural traditions of the Spring Festival. For now, the majority believe that despite outside influences, the soul of the festival will live on.