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Spring Festival festivities in China honor cultural heritage and celebrate family, community, and connections.
The Spring Festival over the Chinese New Year is a vibrant testament to Chinese culture, known for its rich traditions and festive spirit.
Across China, the celebrations display the country's cultural diversity. In the Chaoshan region of Guangdong Province, the Yingge Dance enchants with its performers in lively costumes making parrot-like movements. In Northern China, provinces light up with the dazzling flashes of molten iron thrown against cold brick and lively Yangko dances bring communities together in festive cheer.
The festival's weeks-long celebration leading up to the Chinese New Year is enjoyed by locals, visitors, and expatriates, who all come together to soak in the festive atmosphere. Expatriates Wendyl Martin, Lucy Lv, and Rachel Weiss offer unique insights into their experiences at China's Spring Festival, presenting fresh perspectives on this age-old celebration.
Sounds of happiness in Guilin
Wendyl Martin in Guilin. /CGTN
Wendyl Martin making dumplings with his friends in Guilin. /CGTN
Guilin, known for its ethereal karst landscape, has long been a magnet for domestic and international travelers. Among these visitors was Wendyl Martin, who arrived in Guilin for his first Spring Festival after relocating to China for work in 2023.
It was here in southern China that he first learned to say "Xin nian kuai le," a New Year's greeting that echoed from the villagers in the hills to the shopkeepers selling sweet rice cake treats in the local markets. His journey took him from the iconic Elephant Hill—named for its resemblance to an elephant dipping its trunk into the Li River—to the picturesque Longji Rice Terraces, each step accompanied by festive greetings.
Last year, Wendyl joined friends to celebrate the holiday with a hands-on tradition—making dumplings using multi-colored dough, a modern take on the classic white dumplings. The Spring Festival Gala variety show, a hallmark of Chinese New Year's Eve, played in the background, adding to the lively atmosphere as they gathered around the kitchen table. Embracing the customs, Wendyl dressed in ared holiday hat, honoring the customary practices of the celebration.
With the Year of the Snake just around the corner, Wendyl is preparing to once again embrace the ritual of dumpling making and intends to extend festive greetings of "Yi si nian kuai le," or "Happy Year of the Snake," to those he meets.
A taste of luck in Guangzhou
Lucy Lv stands next to the Zhujiang River, also known as the Pearl River, in south China's Guangdong Province. /CGTN
One of China’s oldest cities, Guangzhou is known for its cultural and culinary heritage, as well as the enthusiasm with which traditional festivals are celebrated, including its Spring Festival celebrations which in 2025 will feature a 45-minute fireworks spectacle and the largest lantern festival in China.
Lucy Lv embarked on her first Spring Festival adventure here with an exploration of the world of dim sum in a traditional teahouse, where steaming bamboo baskets brimming with a variety of delicate dim sum such as har gow (shrimp dumplings), generously filled siu mai (pork, shrimp, and mushroom dumplings) were laid out before her.
A file photo of dim sum dishes in a Cantonese style teahouse. /VCG
Lucy discovered that certain foods carry a weight of auspicious meaning, serving as a silent conveyor of good wishes. Shrimp, for example—which sounds like the Cantonese word for laughter and happiness—symbolizes joy and good fortune, while fish—sounding like the word for abundance—is a favored dish during the Chinese New Year, symbolizing prosperity.
As she shared these dishes around the table, Lucy described feeling the warmth of friendship, gaining a personal insight into the sense of community and togetherness that are fundamental aspects of Chinese dining culture, particularly during the festive season.
A touch of tradition in Beijing
In Beijing, the Spring Festival transforms the city into a dynamic hub of celebration, filled with food, festivities, and fun. For Rachel Weiss, experiencing the Ditan Temple Fair provided a sensory introduction to this deep-rooted Beijing tradition. She recalls that the fair was alive with the energy of lion dancers, their movements synced to the beat of resounding drums, and families came together to enjoy the performances and offered prayers for blessings in the coming year. Stalls were abundant with holiday crafts and trinkets, but her most cherished memory was indulging in the classic street foods of the city, such as sweet tanghulu (candied fruit skewers) and savory lamb chuan'r (grilled skewers).
Rachel Weiss rides an ice cycle at Shichahai Lake in downtown Beijing. /CGTN
Rachel Weiss wears red clothing, echoing red lanterns and festive decorations in downtown Beijing. /CGTN
A folk performance is seen at a temple fair in Ditan Park, Beijing. /CGTN
Tanghulu, or candied hawthorn berries, and other candied treats. /CGTN
During the frozen winter months, the picturesque Shichahai Lake in the heart of Beijing becomes a popular spot for winter activities, including ice skating and ice cycling. The scenic surroundings offer a stunning backdrop to the lively atmosphere and the presence of young people dressed in traditional hanfu garments adds cultural depth and a contemporary pulse to the city's celebration.
For revelers like Wendyl, Lucy, and Rachel, the Spring Festival allows them to deepen their appreciation for the festival’s emphasis on family unity, community spirit, and new beginnings—hopes and values that transcend geographical boundaries and foster a meaningful connection across cultures.