Shanghai Daily news

Chen Liangyu (second from left), secretary of the Communist Party of China’s Shanghai Committee, chats with two women at the No. 2 Welfare Institute in Huangpu District last night as his wife Huang Yiling (right) looks on. Chen and Huang joined the seniors for a Chinese New Year dinner. (Photo: Shanghai Daily)

Shanghai residents will be huddling under umbrellas tonight when they light the fuses of their Spring Festival fireworks, according to the local weather bureau.
The Year of the Rooster is expected to crow at midnight under light rain.
The wet weather is expected to get even worse on Lunar New Year's Day tomorrow, with highs hovering between 5 and 8 degrees Celsius, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.
The rain is expected to end on Thursday, leaving behind a cloudy sky and high temperatures from 3 to 5 degrees.
The mercury will drop a degree or two on Friday under the influence of a weak cold air mass from the north. The overnight low is expected to fall to around 1 degree.
Though the skies may be gloomy, Shanghai's nightscape will sparkle, as 99.5 percent of the city's 230,000 streetlights will be working properly, thanks to an extensive inspection and maintenance campaign carried out by the Shanghai Electric Power Co.
The company added that city residents can be assured of an adequate electricity supply for their holiday fun.
Meanwhile, most of Shanghai's retail outlets and public services will continue to operate during the holiday, though some will be scaled back to allow workers to spend time with their families.
Many stores will close around 5pm to 6pm today and 8pm to 8:30pm tomorrow, resuming normal hours on Thursday.
Some branch banks will be closed, and hours may be shortened at selected main offices.
The Bank of Shanghai, for instance, said that 150 of its outlets - about 70 percent of its total network - will be open for business during the Spring Festival.
Many of the local banks' telephone services will be running during the seven-day holiday.
Most local hospitals will not offer out-patient services tomorrow, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, though they will be open a half day on Saturday starting in the morning. Emergency treatment will be available throughout the holiday, and all medical services will return to normal on Monday.
Most post offices will remain open throughout the period.
In Beijing yesterday, Premier Wen Jiabao highlighted the task of building a harmonious society as he delivered a Lunar New Year address in which he extended holiday greetings to all Chinese citizens.
Speaking at a gathering presided over by President Hu Jintao, Wen vowed to build a harmonious society featuring democracy, the rule of law, equity, justice, sincerity and vitality, saying this strategic task reflects the common aspirations of Chinese people to build a better life.
Such a society will give full scope to people's intelligence and creativity, enabling everyone to share the wealth created through reform and development, Wen said.