China hopes Year of the Monkey brings prosperity

EXUBERANT explosions echoed across Beijing yesterday as Chinese people welcomed the Year of the Monkey, a time they hope brings wealth to a country that has made prosperity its official policy.

"The golden monkey presents us with fortune; our sacred provinces welcome spring," said the Beijing Youth Daily, one of the few papers that published abbreviated editions on the Lunar New Year's first morning.

The departure of millions from Beijing for the holiday left its usually traffic-choked streets quiet at rush hour. On the city's ring roads, cars moved smoothly unheard of when the sun is shining.