JANUARY 1, Western New Year's Day, is called "Yuan Dan" in Chinese. However, not all Chinese know what it means. For example, Li Shuying, 52, who comes from a village in North China's Hebei Province, only knows the Chinese Spring Festival as the beginning of the new year, an exciting time for her.

When asked when she thought New Year's Day really fell, Li said: "Maybe November 30. I don't know."

Although New Year's Day doesn't usually excite her, this year will be a little different - Li has come to Shanghai to be with her daughter at the birth of her first grandchild.

She was hoping it would be a boy. "I would feel guilty about my son-in-law's parents if it isn't a boy, because my son-in-law is the only boy in his family and they need a grandson to carry on the family's ancestry."

Li will stay in the city for three months to take care of her daughter, who works in the city. She will spend the Spring Festival for the first time away from her hometown.

Li lives in a small room in her daughter's house, which now also contains a bed for the baby. Due to the small size of the house, her son-in-law has had to move out and is staying at a friend's apartment.

Li misses her two-storey new house in her home village. She is also worried about her husband who is not good at taking care of himself and the chickens she has been raising for years.

"I am not sure whether my husband will feed the chicks because he has always hated them. He likes to look after the pig we keep in our courtyard. I'm wondering whether he will sell the pig or kill it for the Lunar New Year as we traditionally do every year," Li said.

It's not easy for her to get used to life in Shanghai where she sometimes feels lonely.

"In the village, I can visit my neighbours and we can talk in the courtyards, even though there is a wall in between," she said.