Though some local universities in Shanghai have cut down or canceled their Lunar New Year celebrations because of the global economic downturn, others are making extra efforts to help their needy and out-of-town students enjoy a happy Spring Festival holiday.

Thousands of students cannot return to their homes for the Lunar New Year because of busy study schedules or because they cannot afford the trip.

With the current economic crisis, many other undergraduates are also staying in Shanghai to look for jobs or find internships for the winter holiday.

Shanghai's Jiao Tong University is offering 100,000 yuan (US$14,623) in travel subsidies to students who leave the city to find winter holiday jobs elsewhere.

At Fudan University on Wednesday, several schools are staging a nianyefan, the traditional Lunar New Year's Eve family reunion dinner, for their students.

At a dinner last night, Shanghai's Jiao Tong University gave 50-yuan (US$7.32) meal tokens to out-of-town students and needy students were given a 200-yuan cash grant.

Shanghai Normal University and East China Normal University offer free meals for students who stay for the first three days of the New Year.

(Shanghai Daily January 24, 2009)