China News Service, Shanghai, February 8th: Dutchman Jacob and his more than 30 "Chinese Spring Festival"

　　China News Service reporter Zheng Yingying

　　"Every Spring Festival, I am in China," Dutchman Jacob von Bisterfeld told a reporter from China News Service.

　　Jacob was born in the Netherlands, and his family moved to New Zealand when he was a child. He came to work and live in China in 1992 and has been there for more than 30 years.

　　He said that he likes to stay in China because it is a land full of vitality. Over the past few decades, the country's economy has taken off and people's pockets have become more and more generous. He happily feels this vitality and change.

On February 6, Jacob (first from right) welcomed the upcoming Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon, with his two neighbors. Photo provided by interviewee

　　Having lived in Shanghai for many years, Jacob's life is particularly busy every year as the Chinese New Year approaches, because friends or neighbors always come to his home in Shanghai's Songjiang District to give him Spring Festival couplets and other Spring Festival gifts.

　　And he himself bought nine zodiac dragon plush toys from Taobao early.

　　"Look at my nine 'Loongs', big and small." He said.

　　Every year during the Chinese New Year, Jacob would decorate the sofa table in the living room with the upcoming zodiac animals. Chinese knots and small colorful flags were also hung in his residence, which made him look cheerful and full of New Year atmosphere.

　　Jacob has been in China for more than 30 years. Except for returning to New Zealand to reunite with his family during New Year and Christmas, Jacob said he spent all the Spring Festival in China.

　　As a teacher, he is often invited to attend students' New Year family dinners every Spring Festival. He told that over the years, he has visited students' homes in Zhejiang, Hunan, Xinjiang, Guizhou and other places.

　　"Usually this kind of dinner is a family gathering, but I was invited. I feel very honored." He said.

　　No, the New Year of the Year of the Dragon is approaching, and he has begun to attend major dinner parties again. "I just attended a Chinese New Year party. There were fish, chicken, duck, and my favorite braised pork on the table. There were many varieties," he said.

　　Jacob still remembers that when he first came to China in 1992, there were very few foreigners in China. During the Spring Festival, he was also invited to attend a New Year dinner. At that time, the houses in Shanghai were small, the TVs were black and white, and the dining table could only accommodate 4 to 6 people. Although the food for the New Year's Eve dinner was much richer than usual, it was not comparable to now.

　　At that time, Jacob also went to Yuyuan during the Spring Festival, but according to his recollection, in the early 1990s, the most famous high-rise building in Shanghai was the Peace Hotel, and the city had not yet opened a subway, so he went to Yuyuan by taxi.

　　Another year has come and he has lived in China for more than 30 years. Jacob recalled the first time he came to China, which was a business trip in 1984. In his memory, China was still very poor at that time and there were bicycles on the streets.

　　In his view, people can see how much China's economy has changed in the past few decades from the changes in the vehicles on the road and the New Year's Eve dinner on the table.

　　Can China's economic resilience withstand the test? For Jacob, who has witnessed the tremendous changes in China over the past few decades, this is unquestionable. He used "Super (Super) and Unbelievable (Unbelievable)" to describe China's development in recent years.

　　He has full confidence in China's future. He said that China has a vast territory and abundant resources and a bright future; only when people have confidence can the economy be good. (over)