The chilly winter air has even engulfed a Christmas village at the Beijing Exhibition Plaza, which is open free of charge to the public during the festive season.

In a bid to introduce some of the Christmas spirit more associated with the season in Western countries, a series of events has been launched at the 1,000-square-metre village.

In the village spotlight is a Christmas school where a cheerful Santa tells visitors Christmas stories and customs.

"For us, Christmas is more an opportunity to have some fun than a time for religious reflection," said Yin, a young staff member who works for a Beijing-based enterprise.

"But it's nice to get to know a bit more about the holiday."

A lot of shopping malls have extended their opening hours to midnight in the lead up to Christmas, giving already busy customers enough time to look for gifts and other holiday items.

Illuminated trees and festively decorated store windows help spread the festive cheer, but the biggest attraction still seems to be the opportunity to buy.

"I love shopping more than going to a bar during Christmas and New Year because the significant discounts help me buy things that I think are too expensive at other times," said Ma Nina, an employee of a foreign-funded company in Beijing.

On university campuses, the Christmas atmosphere is also obvious. Christmas cards and posters announcing parties are seen every where.

"I started to celebrate Christmas after reading 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens," said Cao, a senior student at Xiamen University, in East China's Fujian Province.

"It is such a romantic holiday for people to exchange gifts and sing carols."

Some students at Xiamen will spend their Christmas Eve at a church on Gulangyu Island where Christmas carols are sung until late into the night.

Business people are also making the best of Christmas. From Karaoke bars to five-star hotels, various kinds of Christmas parties are being offered.

According to a survey covering 2,000 people in 10 major Chinese cities, more than half of them plan to spend 10 per cent of their monthly income on celebrating Christmas.

The Department of Public Security's fire unit has warned that the rules of fire prevention and control must be observed during the season.

To avoid a replica of the disaster that took place on Christmas Eve two years ago in Central China's Henan Province, 80 inspecting teams have been sent to examine fire equipment city-wide in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan Province.

(People's Daily December 24, 2002)