When people hear "Spring Festival," what comes to mind? Fireworks and red lanterns, dumplings and rice cakes, or the gongs, drums, and lion dances filling the streets? Today, China's Spring Festival is no longer limited to a once-a-year celebration. Its symbols and spirit have woven themselves into daily life.

In 2024, the Spring Festival, marking the social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional Chinese New Year, was officially inscribed on the UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This milestone reflects how Chinese culture, rooted in everyday life, is increasingly shared globally in diverse and evolving forms.

The documentary embarks on a cultural journey across China, tracing how ancient traditions continue to breathe, adapt, and resonate in contemporary life. The lion dance takes center stage as a vivid opening act. This ritual, once performed to ward off evil, has evolved into a symbol of joy, vitality, and good fortune. Chinese designers and inheritors have brought this cultural element onto fashion runways and international stages.

As night falls, lanterns begin to glow, quietly building a festive atmosphere. Bamboo frames and silk gauze become vessels of ancient wisdom, expressing joy, luck, and wholeness through light and shadow. Then, the thunder of drums kicks in. In Qiyuan Village on the outskirts of Beijing, the Dragon Drum announces the arrival of the New Year with passion and force.

Above it all, fireworks illuminate the sky, a long-standing companion to the Chinese people in welcoming new beginnings. Instead of just being simple firecrackers, they are transformed into choreographed spectacles that light up skylines across the world. As the fireworks fade into the night, the story of Spring Festival continues.

This is the Spring Festival: a living tradition, a cultural legacy in motion, and a Chinese New Year shared globally.