First timers are amazed at the intensity of the first night of fireworks - there doesn't seem to be an inch of Shanghai that is not involved. And there are the amazing sights as taxis veer around people lighting fireworks in the middle of the roads.
Westerners do get involved and many of the bars in Dagu Road, Dongping Road, Tongren Road and other haunts see their customers head outside at midnight to add their explosives to the clamor.
For some Westerners, it's also a return to childhood where they can buy and set off fireworks unhindered. Many countries now forbid fireworks unless they are major public organized displays.
Nick Pennington is an English IT manager for an international company and he experienced his first Chinese New Year in 2005 with his wife and her parents in central China's Henan Province.
"I enjoyed it then and I still enjoy it," he said. "The first time I experienced it, it was very exciting. I love the traditions - it's like Christmas for us, you do similar things like visiting friends and relations. In Shanghai we preserve the traditions. We will be having New Year this year with my son and my wife's parents. We will cook dumplings and watch the CCTV New Year program."
Australians Barry Porter and his wife Jenny Liang-Peach have had many Spring Festivals in Shanghai and love the experience. One of the best saw them visiting writer friends on a farm in Jiading district, where they enjoyed fresh food and whisky - served in large bowls.
"New Year is fabulous," Liang said enthusiastically. "You see it best from up high in a tall building. You see the entire city rising up, the sounds of the fireworks ricochet off the buildings around, the shadows play across the structures and it grows in intensity becoming a crescendo of sound and light.
"On the street level you see cars driving around fireworks being let off in the middle of roads. It's amazing. If you walk home through the streets in the early hours of the morning, it's like walking through red snow from the red paper off the fireworks. It's even more amazing because when you get up in the morning there's no sign of this left. It's all been cleaned away."
Irish entrepreneur Alan Duffy has seen nine New Year's Eves in Shanghai and recalls being taken completely by surprise the first time. "It was so noisy and every time I tried to sleep there were more explosions. I didn't know what was going on and it was disconcerting," he said. "Now it has become one of my favorite times of the year in Shanghai - it's easy to get taxis and get into restaurants."
Moments that melt your heart during the Spring Festival travel rush
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