Lao She Memorial Hall [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

"According to Beijing tradition, Chinese New Year begins as early as the start of the last month of the lunar calendar. Before lunar New Year's Eve, every family has to put up spring festival scrolls, do spring-cleaning, and prepare enough food, including different meats, chicken, fish, vegetables and rice cake."

This is how Beijing people celebrate the Spring Festival in the time depicted by famous Chinese writer Lao She.

People's Artist: Lao She Lao She (1899-1966), pseudonym of his given name Shu Qingchun, was born of Manchu descent into a poor family in Beijing.   Former Residence of Lao She The Former Residence of Lao She is a traditional quadrangle home with two central courtyards.   The Lao She Teahouse   The Chinese version of Lao She's work,  The Spring Festival of Beijing

Today, the Spring Festival celebration has become less strict. But, you can still get a glimpse of the traditions at Lao She Memorial Hall - the former residence of Lao She in Beijing.

Located in a hutong in downtown Beijing, the quadrangle courtyard is decorated for the festival in line with tradition. The Chinese character 'fu' is pasted on its walls, while red lanterns hang in the courtyard. There are also riddles on red paper pasted to the windows to entertain visitors. The festive atmosphere of folk culture is a sharp contrast to the Wangfujing commercial area just a few blocks away.

Zhang Wensheng is in charge of the memorial hall. He says it is just part of the ongoing exhibition named "Guo Nian - Entering the World of Lao She."

February 3 marks the 108th anniversary of Lao She's birth. For this occasion, the Memorial Hall launched a new exhibition displaying more details of the life lead by Lao She. And with the Spring Festival approaching, some folk customs penned by the writer himself have also been put on display.

"Lao She wrote of the folk culture surrounding Chinese New Year in some of his works, such as 'The Spring Festival of Beijing,' 'Guo Nian (Spend the Lunar New Year),' etc. What we want to display is the Spring Festival as described in Lao She's works. Therefore, we quote his words on every plaque of the exhibition."

Surely, the decorated courtyard and Lao She's quotations, along with photos of Spring Festivals of years past, give you an impression of the folk culture of old Beijing.

A bilingual volunteer illustrator, a student from Beijing No. 4 Middle School, says a lot of people have been visiting the memorial hall these days, including non-Beijing residents and overseas visitors. He himself has also learned a lot about the folk culture unfamiliar to his generation.

Nan Yang, a junior at Beijing Normal University, found the ongoing exhibition very interesting. As a Beijing native, he hopes the memorial hall will display even more items to illustrate the folk culture Lao She wrote about.

Actually, the museum is planning more folk culture exhibitions for the future, as Lao She wrote a lot about Beijing traditions in his works.

"Time flies. Students have to go to school and adults have to work as usual. Chinese New Year concludes on the 19th of the first lunar month," Lao She wrote. And, in line with his work, the "Guo Nian" exhibition will also conclude on March 8, "the 19th of the first lunar month."