Weather
It will be mostly cloudy and warm for the weeklong Chinese New Year holiday, which starts tomorrow, weathermen forecast yesterday.
Temperatures for the first four days of the holiday should be higher than the historic average for the period.
Some rain is expected next Monday and Tuesday, but it won't last long, and it is going to get colder and windy late in the holiday due to a cold air mass from the north.
Today should be cloudy, with temperatures between 5 and 12 degrees Celsius, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau. It will become warmer on Sunday, the first day of the Year of the Dog, with a high of 15 degrees. The low should be 6 degrees.
Monday will be overcast and the high is set to drop to 11 degrees. Rain is expected in the evening.
Small rain is in forecast for early Tuesday, but it should dry up later in the day. It will be colder, with temperatures between 6 and 9 degrees.

Transport
The number of passengers leaving Shanghai by air is expected to hit its peak today, Shanghai Air Traffic Control authorities said yesterday.
More than 1,030 flights are expected to take off or land at the city's two commercial airports today.
The city controls the number of flights over the Chinese New Year due to safety concerns, officials said.
At least 12 flights heading for Xi'an in Shaanxi Province from Shanghai's airports were delayed yesterday as planes at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport could not take off on time because of heavy fog.
More than 2,200 flights were added to cover east China during the festival travel period.
From January 14 to February 22, 24 million travelers are expected to depart from local railway stations, an increase of 3.3 percent from last year. The Shanghai Railway Station will handle 5 million travelers during that period, an 8.5 percent increase from the same period last year.
During the peak travel period, 810,000 people are expected to fly into or out of the city on 7,065 flights.
In addition, the local transit system is expected to handle 7 million passengers a day during the holiday.
According to the Shanghai Engineering Administrative Bureau, all of the city's district-level road toll collection offices will be closed tomorrow, but open to the public during the rest of the festival.

Shopping
Most Shanghai retailers will close their shops early today, so employees can enjoy New Year's Eve dinner with family and friends.
The city's hypermarkets, including Carrefour, Hualian GMS Supermarket, Trustmart and Century Lianhua Hypermarket, will close early today, Sunday and Monday.
Lotus Supercenter is one of few supermarkets that will open till 11pm today.
Carrefour will close at 6pm today and 8:30pm tomorrow. Carrefour will resume normal business hours on Monday, with closing times at 10pm to 10:30pm.
Hymall will close at 6pm today and resume regular shopping hours tomorrow. Department stores will also close between 5pm and 6pm today, and resume regular hours on Tuesday.
Many will offer big discounts over the holiday.
The Landmark on Nanjing Road E. has started its New Year blitz by cutting prices by as much as 50 percent. The retailer is also doing a group promotion offering heavy discounts for various brands.
In the same area, Shanghai New World Department Store will cut prices by about 20 percent on most of its products.
On Huaihai Road, Parkson's has cut the prices for most of its products by 50 percent. The discounts will run through Tuesday.
For those who wishes to buy gifts for their kids, Super Brand Mall in Pudong is carrying out a group promotion involving brands such as Walt Disney, and Elle. The promotion will last till February 6.
Some retailers are looking for unique ways to attract shoppers.
Shanghai Times Square on Huaihai Road M. will stage a performance including lion dancing and a puppy show on February 4.

Travel
The city is expected to receive 2.4 million tourists this holiday, according to the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Commission, a similar number of last year. Hotel accommodations will peak on February 1, when 53 percent of hotel rooms in the city will be full.
Local travel agencies are still booking customers, but tickets for southern holiday resorts are running short. Popular destinations include Xiamen in Fujian Province, Zhuhai in Guangdong Province, Sanya and Haikou in Hainan Province, and Zhangjiajie in Hunan Province.

Entertainment
The city's scenic lights will be on from 6pm to 11pm from today to February 3.
Eleven popular science museums will be open to the public during most of the holiday. They include the Shanghai Geological Popular Science Museum on Huazhou Road near the Pudong International Airport, Shanghai Insect Museum on Fenglin Road, Shanghai Astronomy Museum atop Sheshan Hill, and Shanghai Tunnel Museum on Zhonghua Road.
The Shanghai Art Museum will open to the public free of charge from tomorrow to Tuesday.

Services
Major branches of local banks will open late and shut early during the New Year holidays. Emergency rooms will be open throughout the holiday.
Local hospitals will only open for half a day from today to Tuesday. They will start to provide around-the-clock out-patient service on Wednesday and Thursday. Hospitals will resume normal operations on February 6.

Useful numbers
Some emergency and service numbers might be helpful.
Police 110; Fire 119; Ambulance 120; Weather 12121; Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport 6268-8918; Shanghai Pudong International Airport 9608-1388; Railway 6317-9090.