Enter The Dragon ... Worldwide!

Dragon Drags the World In

By Antoaneta Becker

LONDON, Jan 20, 2012 (IPS) - Chinese fengshui masters have been busy advising edgy followers how to optimise their luck in the auspicious but volatile Year of the Dragon, which according to the lunar calendar begins on Jan.23. In the West though, Chinese superstitions about the precarious nature of Dragon years don’t hold court, and 2012 will arguably mark the largest by far Chinese New Year celebrations in many world capitals and major cities.

Lavish celebrations in London, Liverpool, Hawaii and Vancouver follow long and well established traditions set by large Chinese communities. In recent years though, in a slight nod to China’s rise and its omnipresent clout, the festivities marking the beginning of Chinese New Year are spreading beyond local Chinese communities and becoming hip events to draw diverse crowds.

"Celebrations in London have certainly grown and now claim to be the largest celebrations outside Asia," says Theresa Booth, director of the London Chopsticks Club, which promotes cultural exchanges between Britain and China. "The celebrations are listed as a special event on the Visit London website, which suggests they see it as a way of tapping into the ever growing interest in China and attracting more tourists to London."  More Here: CHINA: Dragon Drags the World In - IPS ipsnews.net

Vancouver neighbourhood builds new identity as creative industry powerhouse

The light industrial/heritage mix of Lower Mount Pleasant has transformed the area from ‘a no man’s land’ to a hotbed of activity

By John Mackie, Vancouver Sun January 4, 2012

More Images
Statues line a shelf at St Andrew’s Books Gifts and Church supply in Mt Pleasant.
Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann, Vancouver Sun
Lower Mount Pleasant has long been one of Vancouver’s most invisible neighbourhoods. Originally residential, it was rezoned industrial decades back and became something of a no man’s land, a grab bag of light industrial buildings and old houses. It was the kind of area you drove around, or through.
Until now.
The tiny area north of Broadway, between Cambie and Main, has quietly developed into one of Vancouver’s most interesting neighbourhoods. It’s home to architectural offices, film companies and artist studios, print shops, clothing manufacturers and the head offices of Mountain Equipment Co-op.
It’s an eclectic blend, the living definition of what urban planners call “mixed use.”
Need a statuette of St. Michael, the patron saint of police officers? You can pick one up at St. Andrews Book, Gift and Church Supply, a 12,000 square-foot store and warehouse at 305 West 8th.
Looking for a great coffee? Milano Boutique Roasters (156 West 8th) grinds its own brand of beans in the back, and offers a drop-dead gorgeous view of the downtown skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows in its café.
Want some cultural nightlife? The Anza Club (3 West 8th) hosts concerts and The Celluloid Social Club, a monthly forum for local independent filmmakers. And the unsignposted Narrow Lounge (1898 Main St.) is one of Vancouver’s hottest little hipster bars.
Read More Here