Little New Year, or Xiaonian in Chinese is usually celebrated a week before the lunar New Year. The date of this holiday was sometimes assigned according to location, with people in northern China celebrating it on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, and people in southern China celebrating it on the 24th.

Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu province celebrates the festival this year on Feb 9 with a series of local customs.

House cleaning

In the day of Little New Year, families throughout Zhangjiagang undertake a thorough house cleaning, sweeping out the old in preparation for the New Year.

Sweeping out the old in preparation for the New Year. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]