With red lanterns hanging from the eaves, the bangs of firecrackers outside, and tables of delicious food, Chinese people, including millions of quake survivors, observed the Lunar New Year eve in the traditional way.

In the prefab of quake survivor Hu Suqiong, a dozen family members gathered at the table on which were traditional local foods such as preserved ham and sausage.

"I really had not expected that I could celebrate the Spring Festival with everyone in such a good prefab room," Hu's husband Chen Ziyi toasted Sunday noon's "reunion" (tuanyuan in Chinese) meal", which take place among Chinese families on the Lunar New Year's Eve.

The "Qinjian Family" prefab housing area where Hu Suqiong lives near the downtown of Dujiangyan City has 120,000 people. Dujiangyang was a worst-hit area in Sichuan Province in last May's devastating earthquake which left more than 80,000 people dead or missing.

"I feel rather satisfied and thank all those who have helped me," Chen said.

Spring Festival, which falls on Monday, is the most important holiday for Chinese. People meet relatives and eat dumplings and various delicious food. They set off firecrackers to scare off evil spirits.

For Chinese, the year 2008 was both a painful year and a proud year in which the 8.0-magnitude earthquake on May 12 in Sichuan caused huge casualties and damage, and the successful Olympic Games in August made China a focus in the world.