The 2021 Spring Festival is around the corner. This year, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, celebration for the festival looks a lot different. All those must-dos like reunions, family dinners and travels are weighted against social distancing. But a virtual celebration is still a good way for us all to pass on our best wishes to families and friends. 

In this episode of the The Chat Room, we invite foreign guests living in China and Chinese who left the country years ago, to share their 2021 Chinese New Year plans. What's their favorite parts of Spring Festival? What kind of Spring Festival traditions they have in their families? How will the pandemic affect their celebrations? Let's hear it all! 

Food of course is the priority among the priorities of the Spring Festival celebrations. When talking about the festival plans, all the guests mentioned their New Year specials.

Three out of five guest families said they were planning to have dumplings for the festival. Unable to go back to hometown in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Ann Zhang, a social media influencer in New Jersey, U.S., switched her travel plan to a small get-together with friends – playing mahjong and making dumplings. Emerika E. Rovinson, a college student in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, is going to learn the skill to make egg rolls and dumplings from her professor, to mark her first Spring Festival celebration in China. And James Lalonde and Zhang Yi, a couple living in Beijing, also said they will make dumplings at home with their families.

While for Luo Xiaomin and Dimitri Debourg, a couple also living in Wuhan, the New Year feast seems more sumptuous. To them, Wuhan's featured cuisines are the must-haves, including preserved meat sausages and stuffed lotus root with pork. What's more, as a professional dessert chef from France, Dimitri also surprised the crowds with a delicate cake in the shape of an ox!

The food is also regarded as the biggest expectation for Ben Kavanagh, a social media influencer in Dublin, Ireland. "Food is one of the big reasons I came to China. There are so many things you could try," he said. Due to the lockdown in the city, he said he would just have some takeaways from local Chinese restaurants. "I love spring rolls than anything else," he said, teasing that it may sounds disappointing since he knows it is more for foreigners. "We grow up and get told this is Chinese food. And when we get to China, none of the Chinese people eat none of it."

For Chinese people, watching the Spring Festival Gala is a must during the holiday celebrations. Featuring performances such as traditional Chinese cross-talk, short sketch, martial arts, singing and dancing, the gala is an indispensable entertainment during the holidays and makes up the common memories of all Chinese, at home and abroad.

"When you are realizing that you are watching a show that billions of people are watching at the same time, you feel like your happiness got doubled," Ann Zhang said, highlighting the meaning of the gala to Chinese families. The show is a must-watch in her family every year. Even though she now lives abroad, she still sticks to the tradition. Some shows are so impressive that she could still remember, including her favorite dancing show named "Thousand-Hand Kwan-yin."

Influenced by his wife Zhang Yi and her family, James Lalonde has also been watching the gala for years. According to him, they don't really watch it all night, but they watch the re-rounds. "It's on all the holidays!," James said, adding that he likes the comedies most. When asked about how he could understand the lines and jokes in the comedy, James shared his secret – "Because it is repeated! Keep asking, what does that mean? Why is it funny? Why are people laughing at it?" He said watching the gala acted like a learning experience. "I learned how to speak like a dongbei  (northeast) comedian." He even tried telling jokes to his Chinese friends who are from the northeastern provinces.

Unlike Zhang Yi and James, Xiaomin and Dimitri prefer to watch the gala all night long with the families. According to Xiaomin, Dimitri seems to be interested in the gala as well. Ding Xun, their friend and University professor in Wuhan, also expressed her love for the gala and the happy atmosphere it delivers. "It's not the Spring Festival without the gala, right?" 

She said she liked a comedy named Zhongdiangong (Hourly maid or the part-timer in English) very much, featuring Chinese comedian Zhao Benshan and Song Dandan. Though it is a comedy from 2000's gala, she still recommended it to her foreign friends. "It's just classic, no matter how time changed."

Welcoming the Year of the Ox, guests also shared their New Year resolutions and best wishes for themselves, families and friends.

For Ann, her fist goal in 2021 is to visit her parents. As her father is going to turn 50 in the new year, she wishes to celebrate the big year with him. Meanwhile, she is busy launching her own brand online, thus her second resolution is to design more good clothing for women and keep posting fun videos to bring more joy to other people.

Xiaomin and Dimitri's 10-year-old son gave his sincere wishes to all the people in Wuhan, wishing them good health, happiness and their children having great scores in school. He also said his dream is to become a soldier when he grows up. The young gentleman also shared his thoughts about the pandemic. "There is always a rainbow after the rainfall. We are now fighting through one task after another, and we will defeat the pandemic by the end."

Other guests also shared their wishes of getting reunited with families and friends, keeping healthy and happy, getting good achievements in competition, and going well with the career and studies.

Just like the young boy said, it is the imperfect that makes the perfect. And it is only after the huge storms can you see the rainbow. In the Year of the Ox, with the auspicious zodiac that symbolizes strengths, independence and many good meanings, hope everyone can lead a happy and healthy life and realize their New Year resolutions.

What are your plans for the Spring Festival? What are your New Year resolutions? Please share with us!