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Laura Zhou

There was a muted feel to New Year celebrations in many mainland cities, as the nation reflected on a year with its share of tragedies, and authorities took a cautious approach amid rising security concerns.
At venues across the country, events were cancelled, or security tightened, though official celebrations went ahead in Beijing.

The central government would continue to support One Country, Two Systems and the prosperity of Hong Kong, President Xi Jinping told the New Year tea gathering of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
READ MORE - Witnesses tell how Shanghai Bund chaos erupted within minutes
In a separate, televised, address, he said China would continue to build diplomatic relations and implement reform.
He referred to several disasters that took place in 2015, including the explosions at a Tianjin warehouse in August, the Shenzhen landslide in December, and numerous terrorist incidents across the country, pledging the government would ensure public safety and protect the assets of Chinese people.

About 1,000 guests attended the official New Year’s Eve celebration near Beijing’s Forbidden City, while the iconic Bird’s Nest staged a gala.
But a countdown event at the China Millennium Monument in the Beijing World Art Museum was called off because it failed to obtain approval from the city’s public security authority, the Legal Evening News reported.
The Place, a shopping mall featuring a giant LED screen on its roof in Beijing’s central business district, said there would be no festive activities on New Year’s Eve and all shops would close at 10pm as usual.
READ MORE - Embassies warn of ‘threats’ at popular Beijing bar district at Christmas; Chinese police on street as alert raised
Such a low-key approach was disappointing for Nancy, a tourist travelling with her family from Namibia. “We were expecting a festive atmosphere in Beijing where people would join together to count down like other countries in the world,” she said. “But as it seems unlikely to happen, we may have to go back to our hotel earlier than planned.”
Armed police patrolled the streets in Sanlitun, a popular bar and shopping area, where security was stepped up after warnings by five foreign embassies – the US, British, French, Canadian and Australian – of threats against Westerners on Christmas Eve.

A vendor in Sanlitun said the mall would be closed as usual. “A huge crowd is now a big concern to safety after the Shanghai stampede last year, especially in popular sites as Sanlitun,” she said. “We don’t have an option.”
READ MORE - Shenzhen landslide: Man found alive under eight metres of rubble survived by ‘thinking of mother and eating sunflower seeds’
In Shanghai, police beefed up security in the city’s highest-profile sites as local authorities scrapped all but one of the traditional major celebrations following the stampede on The Bund that killed 36 people.
Watch: New Year stampede kills dozens in Shanghai


Public security officers and armed police, including SWAT teams and other special forces, were sent to both The Bund and the entertainment district of Xintiandi, where Shanghai’s lone major celebration took place, in a park, limited to 4,800 participants.
Roads and subway stations that lead to The Bund were temporarily closed.
Officials said no commemoration of the stampede tragedy was planned and no New Year events would be held on The Bund.

In Shenzhen, celebrations were low profile in the aftermath of the massive landslide that has left dozens of people still missing.
In Hong Kong, Times Square scrapped its countdown for the second time in two years. Before last year’s cancellation the mall had celebrated by dropping a ball from a 22-metre LED tower at midnight every year since 1993. 
Additional reporting by Jessie Lau



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Thousands of police deployed in Shanghai on New Year’s Eve, one year after crush among revellers that killed 36

As Hong Kong parties in a blaze of fireworks, New Year’s Eve celebrations muted across China amid security fears

New Year’s Eve: for some in Shanghai, an anniversary too much to bear

Shanghai New Year's Eve stampede

No Caption Available.

Citizens gather at Lan Kwai Fong in Central for celebration of New Year's Eve. 31DEC15 SCMP/Felix Wong

epa04544026 A photo taken with a smartphone of people pushing each other as they try to escape a stampede on the riverside Bund in Shanghai, China, on New Year's Eve 31 December 2014. The stampede left at least 35 people dead and more than 40 injured in Shanghai, marring celebrations that drew revellers around the world to ring in 2015. The accident occurred 25 minutes before midnight at the crowded Chen-Yi Square along the city's famed Huangpu River waterfront, China News agency reported, citing government officials. The chaos reportedly broke out when revellers yelled that money was being thrown, and people were trampled in the rush. EPA/ZHOU MIAOCHEN

Fireworks ring in the new year across Victoria Harbour in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: SCMP

IN PICTURES: How the world rang in the New Year, in shadow of terrorism fears

People embrace near the Eiffel tower during New Year celebrations in Paris on January 1, 2016. AFP PHOTO/ MATTHIEU ALEXANDRE

A young couple share a tender moment at Red Square during the New Year celebration in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Jan. 1, 2016, with the St. Basil's Cathedral in the background. Putin is using his New Year’s message to commemorate both the country’s current fight in Syria and the battles of World War II seven decades ago. The recorded message was being televised just before midnight Thursday in each of Russia’s nine time zones. (AP Photo/Denis Tyrin)

People stand in a penned of area of Times Square during New Year's Eve celebrations in Manhattan December 31, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

epa05084855 Fireworks illuminate the sky over the hill of Athens' ancient Acropolis, in Athens, Greece, on the first minute of 01 January 2016. EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU

Girls kiss a police officer during the Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland, December 31, 2015. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

epaselect epa05084510 The New Year's Eve Fireworks on Sydney Harbour at Mrs Macquarie's Point in Sydney, Australia, 01 Janury 2016. EPA/MICK TSIKAS AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

epaselect epa05084816 Using a long time exposure unseen people write '2016' using a sparkler in front of the Queen Elizabeth Tower and The Houses of Parliament ahead of the new year fireworks in central London in central London, Britain 31 December 2015. Around 100,000 people are expected to take part in the New Years Eve festivities on the bank of the river Thames. EPA/HANNAH MCKAY

People look at the sun during sunrise in Odawara, Kanagawa prefecture, west of Tokyo, Japan, January 1, 2016. REUTERS/Yuya Shino

Fireworks light the sky above the Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania, shortly after midnight during the New Year's Eve celebrations, Friday, Jan. 1, 2016. Thousands of people celebrated the beginning of the New Year 2016 in the Lithuanian capital. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)

Revellers embrace near the Eiffel tower during New Year celebrations in Paris, where terrorism fears still loomed large. Photo: AFP

New Year’s Eve skyscraper fire in Dubai burns on into 2016

Smoke billows from the Address Downtown Hotel in Dubai on January 1, 2016, in the aftermath of a huge fire that engulfed several floors of the building. A huge fire ripped through the luxury Dubai hotel late on December 31, 2015, injuring 16 people, just a few hours before the emirate celebrated the new year with a spectacular fireworks display nearby. AFP PHOTO / MARWAN NAAMANI

Wounded people are seen outside the Address Downtown Dubai hotel and residential block after a fire engulfed the skyscraper in downtown Dubai in the United Arab Emirates December 31, 2015. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

Smoke billows from the Address Downtown Hotel, after it caught on fire hours earlier, past fireworks, near the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower in Dubai, on January 1, 2015. At least 16 people were injured when a huge fire ripped through a luxury 63-storey hotel, the Address Downtown, where crowds were gathering to watch New Year's Eve celebrations. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known but the building was safely evacuated. AFP PHOTO / AHMAD FARWAN

(151231) -- DUBAI, Dec. 31, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Photo taken by a mobile device shows Address Downtown Dubai hotel on fire in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on Dec. 31, 2015. Fire broke out on Thursday in a luxurious hotel in Dubai where people were gathering nearby to watch the New Year's fireworks show. (Xinhua/Liu Yang)

epa05084826 Flames and smoke after a fire broke out at The Address Hotel in Dubai, UAE. 31 December 2015. Media reports state that there is no immediate news of casualties. EPA/STRINGER

People watch smoke from a fire that ripped through the Address Downtown hotel, billowing past the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower in Dubai on December 31, 2015. People were gathering to watch New Year's Eve celebrations when the hotel caught on fire without causing casualties, according to authorities. AFP PHOTO / KARIM SAHIB

WIRE

Smoke billows from the Address Downtown Hotel in Dubai on Friday, in the aftermath of a huge fire that engulfed several floors of the building. Photo: AFP

End of an era for traditional New Year countdown

A local band sound “ Super Moment” performing to the audiences at the Times Square, Causeway Bay to mark the celebration of the New Year Count Down. 31DEC15 SCMP/Martin Chan

Local band Super Moment performing to the crowds at Times Square, Causeway Bay to mark the celebration of the New Year yesterday evening. Photo: Martin Chan

Mei Hechun, second from right, and his sister Mei JIng (in pink coat) with their friends. Photo: SCMP