One of the most well known legends of Chinese New Year is that of the vicious Nian...a cruel monster that ate people during the New Year festivities. As in so many Chinese legends, the terror ended when a good spirit taught the people that Nian was afraid of loud noises, fire, and the color red. This was the origins of fireworks, drums and gongs, carrying and displaying lanterns, huge noisy parades, dragon and lion dancing, and red decorations at New Year.

For the New Year's celebrations here in AW's Orient, we're offering a Bop Nian game. The rules are simple: when you see Nian appear, point at him with your cursor and click the left mouse button. If you're fast enough, you'll bop him; if not, he'll get away. You have 100 chances per game...but you can always play again.

If you like, post your score here.

Note: This game requires the Flash plugin. If you do not have it, you can download it at Macromedia.