Cutting it fine by tradition

BEIJING - Close shaves were the order of the day as people cut it fine and thousands of barbers across the country gave their customers hairy moments to remember. Thursday was longtaitou, the day "the dragon raises its head" and spring, the season of growth, is ushered in.

Chinese people, by tradition, will rush to have their hair cut on the second day of the second lunar month, hoping that it will bring good fortune for the year.

"I feel much more comfortable now," a newly shorn Zhao Yunfei sighed contentedly as he left Jinbancun, a famous barbers in Beijing.