No Monkeying About as Spring Festival Nears

A group of young Tianjin students dressed in rather elaborate costumes inspired by the famed Chinese character the Monkey King practice what is no doubt an intricate routine requiring hours of preparation as they ready for their Spring Festival performance at a temple fair near you. The reason for the Monkey King’s appearance is not this time due to a lack of originality – the King not Elvis or Burger appears in a seemingly “new” production every year or two in China – but instead as recognition of the Year of the Monkey fast bearing down upon us.