Hairdressers trim in extra customers for festival

Xu Yong, manager of Fashion Style hair salon in Chaoyang district, welcomed his first guest at 8 am on Wednesday, one and a half hours earlier than usual.

He did it to mark the Spring Dragon Festival. According to Chinese traditional, the second day of the second lunar month is when the dragon in charge of rain lifts up its head. Chinese people, who tradition holds are descendants of this dragon, should also "raise their heads" and mark the day by cutting off their hair, or at least getting a haircut.

"Usually, we are open from 9:30 am to 10:30 pm. But today it is Spring Dragon Festival, so who knows? We have received a lot reservations," said Xu. "It's lucky that the festival doesn't fall on a weekend this year."