Hongbao gets bigger despite digital spin
On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, I sent 66 yuan ($10), a lucky Chinese amount, to my family WeChat group as my last hongbao, the traditional red envelope with cash given during Spring Festival.
My wife posted a grinning emoji with 0.61 yuan. My son got 4.1 yuan with the use of my mother-in-law’s cellphone. The evening’s luckiest draw of 16.8 yuan went to our domestic helper, who said nothing but we could tell she was happy with the windfall.
In less than half an hour, my hongbaowas collected by a dozen family members living in different parts of the country. I can’t recall
This Day, That Year
ItemfromFeb6,1996,in ChinaDaily:Trafficjamsin Beijingareexpectedtobe relievedbymeasurescoming intoeffectnextMonday.
Exceptonholidays,jeeps, busesandcarswhosedisplacementissmallerthan1 liter,andbearlicenseplates endingwithanoddnumber, willbeallowedtotravelonly onodd-numbereddays.…
China was once synonymous with bicycles.
Now, roads on which two wheels previously reigned supreme have become the domain of motorists. The country had 290 million any prior WeChat post that has got everybody’s attention so quickly. At Chinese New Year’s Eve, even the world’s most-watched Spring Festival TV show lost shine as viewers were engrossed in gift-giving on smartphones.
But giving hongbaoisn’t always fun. Offline, the tokens of good luck and blessing could become sources of anxiety, with a rising going rate and a desire for showing off personal success.
While app users may be amused to get less than 1 yuan from a digital hongbao, the going rate for a red packet stuffed with cash has continued to rise, from 500 yuan a few years ago to 1,000 yuan among close family members and friends in big cities, according to some informal surveys.
People often cite better family financial situations for giving more. One of my motor vehicles at the end of last year, including 194 million cars, according to the government.
Last year, 18 cities and municipalities had more than 2 million registered cars. Beijing topped the list with 5.4 million cars.
To limit pollution and reduce congestion, most cities have introduced driving restrictions.
In Beijing, the city government has limited the use of cars six times since 2008 by imposing restrictions on entering the city core. The curbs are based on registration numbers, and rotate colleagues told me that she ensures that she pays back more every time her child receives a hongbao.
As red packets get bigger, less well-off parents find it necessary to go along, because the exchanges of cash should end up roughly even, or they risk being considered stingy.
Other reasons include inflation and higher costs of living and education. The old rates of 100-200 yuan are barely enough for one piano lesson or two tickets for a movie in a nice theater.
I’ve heard about efforts by some parents to tame the costs of hongbaoby agreeing to exempt each other from the burden when they meet during the holiday.
But such parental collaborations seem to be the exception rather than the rule, because giving hongbao remains an important Chinese family rite, symbolic of every three months.
Violators face a fine of 200 yuan ($30).
These policies are enforced by traffic cameras that are able to recognize license plates as well as by officers who know the cars that should not be on the road during a certain day.
Other policies have limited the number of people who are qualified to buy cars in Beijing. filial piety and elderly generosity.
When paying Spring Festival visits to their grandparents, probably no urban children would kneel and kowtow three times, like in the old days. But this hasn’t discouraged pensioners from bestowing fatter red packets on them. In Beijing, schoolchildren can get up to 10,000 yuan from grandparents, according to local media reports.
My ailing parents gave 5,000 yuan to each of my two children, or they would feel bad, my mom said. They declined my hongbao, insisting they just wanted their grandchildren to see them more.
I could see that they had already planned their next reunion.
Contact the writer at yuanzhou@ chinadaily.com.cn
Only those who have permanent residency or have paid social security fees for five years are eligible to enter the monthly license plate lottery in Beijing.