It is being believed with the support of statistical data that the biggest migration of human beings in a limited time period on the mother earth takes place during the Chinese new year. The largest populated country in the world, China, becomes the Mecca of family reunion. All means of transportation are exhausted within the country and airlines around the world run on heavy schedule during the month of February. 
Also called China’s Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, the passengers carry a heavy cargo.  Apart from carrying gifts, toys and clothes for children and other family members, the tradition allows them to come home even hauling a tub of meat as for many Chinese, it is a yearly visit to their home and no one wants to go empty handed on China’s biggest holiday. 
Keeping up with the tradition, General Manager of Marriott Hotel Islamabad, Mr. Maurizio Romani and His Excellency Mr. Nong Rong, the newly arrived ambassador of the People’s Republic of China graciously invited the crème de la crème of Islamabad suitably dressed for the occasion with some with matching masks and others with colourful printed masks. 
A group of girls gave an enthralling performance before the sumptuous dinner was laid out at the pool side in an open air. Many European ambassadors were in attendance and so was Ms Androulla Kaminara, Ambassador of Delegation of European Union to Pakistan wearing a mask with Pakistani flag imprinted on it.
Explaining the sentiments of Chinese people’s association with the festival, an expat walked me through the whole scenario as if we both were in China.  
“The cavernous, thrumming airports, railways and bus stations around the country host hundreds of millions of Chinese on the move for the Lunar New Year. Many wear red hats or scarves, the colour of good luck. While the total number of holiday travellers is hard to pin down, this is the world’s largest annual migration. Hours and hours of journey and miles and miles to go, the transportation bodies ship in passengers with their loved ones and herald a cornucopia of celebration all over the country. The night before the New Year, the railway stations hum like a giant boot camp, with the police, paramilitary troops and station staff members hustling passengers into waiting rooms to be corralled onto trains,” he explained. 
Those who can’t make it to the homeland do not fall behind. Many countries around the world are home to big Chinese communities and China Town is something that everyone is familiar with. So, the local community celebrates the Chinese Lunar New Year with marathon eating, fireworks lighting the sky and family reunion celebrations. 
Same could be said about the host as the menu had become the magnum opus of the event. A sumptuous spread of appetizers, wide variety of salads and a carnivore feast starting with pigeon soup with quail eggs, premium five spiced beef shank, roasted duck with pancake, roasted mountain lamb leg with rosemary apple sauce, veal balls in brown sauce, jumbo crabs with celery, angus ribs with pepper sauce, tiger prawns with Sichuan pepper, stir fried scallop squids with ox sauce and red snapper fillet and silver pomfret.  It was a treasure trove for the epicureans and a treat for the Chinese denizens.