(CFP)

In preparation for the approaching Spring Festival and the Year of the Rabbit, shoppers at a Beijing market choose stuffed rabbits as gifts for friends and family on January 8.

The Spring Festival, the lunar Chinese New Year which falls on February 3 in 2011, is the most significant traditional Chinese holiday and is a time for families to gather together.

The Chinese people will enjoy a seven-day holiday from February 2-8. Before and after the festival, the world's largest population migration occurs across the country as people return to their hometowns. Consumer markets also enjoy boosted sales during the festival.