A new exhibition is being held at the old residence of Lao She at the Fengfu Hutong of Dongcheng District in Beijing to mark the 108th birthday of the great writer who wrote extensively about common Chinese people's lives in the first half of the 20th century.

Lao She (1899-1966) is one of China's greatest contemporary writers.  

Many new valuable items are on display, detailing Lao She's poor childhood, his struggle to support his family, a journey to the United States and his achievements.

Though Lao She's official birthday was February 3, 1899, the writer himself preferred the date on the lunar calendar the 23rd day of the last lunar month (Feb 10 this year), which marks the Minor Spring Festival when people offer miniature pumpkin-shaped malt sugar to the God of Stove.

Lao She gave some vivid descriptions about the Spring Festival in many of his novels. To help people better understand the traditional Chinese festival, the Lao She Memorial at his old residence has been decorated as a siheyuan courtyard according to his novels.

If a visitor gets the right answer to a puzzle written on a lantern, he/she can get a small present, in the tradition of the Lantern Festival, which is a part of the Spring Festival.

(China Daily February 6, 2007)