On Christmas Day, the city is oddly desolate. Stores are shuttered, and streets that are usually jammed with the city’s inhabitants are now sprinkled with tourists and the occasional stragglers.
When museums and shopping destinations are closed, tourists head down to Chinatown, where a few restaurants, gift shops, and grocery stores remain open for them to enjoy.
Pauline Halperin, who hails from Cape Town, South Africa, was looking forward to seeing live frogs that she’s heard are sold at Chinese supermarkets.
“It’s so different, you don’t find things like that at home,” said Halperin. She’s visiting the city for the first time with her husband and two teenage children. “It’s always been our dream, on our bucket list,” she said.
I just like the buzz and the vibrancy.
