“Seeing citizens and tourists beaming with joy while enjoying traditional folk performances, I felt a strong sense of the New Year.”
The drum music was sonorous, and the dragon and lion dance performances were full of joy... On the eve of the Spring Festival, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to Tianjin Ancient Culture Street to see the people's sentiments, send blessings, and learn about the inheritance and development of traditional culture.
Facing the crowd gathered around, the General Secretary said cordially: "The Lunar New Year is the Year of the Dragon. The dragon in Chinese culture has multiple meanings such as bravery, endless vitality, and good luck, and entrusts a beautiful vision. Everyone should look forward to the new year. Be confident and live a better life.”
When Chinese celebrate the New Year, what they pay attention to is the flavor of the year. Every Spring Festival, General Secretary Xi Jinping always goes deep into the people, making dumplings, posting blessing characters, chatting about daily life, sending blessings with everyone, and welcoming the New Year with the customs of various places.
Warm interactions and sincere blessings, full of respect and protection for traditional culture, unite the power of unity for progress.
The taste of the New Year includes the joy of preparing New Year’s goods
Ancient Culture Street, located in Nankai District, Tianjin, is a gathering place for delicious food, with many “time-honored” brands located here.
There is an endless stream of customers in the Mahua and Guoren Zhang shops on Guifaxiang Street 18 with a long history. On February 1, General Secretary Xi Jinping walked into the store and asked about the varieties, customer flow, and prices. He also paid for several boxes of twists and chestnut soup, and gave two boxes to a little boy next to him.
△On the afternoon of February 1, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the Tianjin Ancient Culture Street and walked into the store to interact with the people on site.
"I am very happy to receive the gift from Grandpa Xi. I wish Grandpa Xi a happy New Year!" "General Secretary Xi Jinping will come to Tianjin to visit everyone. It feels very warm." Speaking of the scene at that time, 8-year-old Li Yanhua and his mother Chi Feng Tao was very excited.
In Huozhou, Shanxi, the New Year flavor comes as soon as the New Year buns are steamed. In January 2022, on the eve of the Spring Festival, in Feng Nanyuan Village, General Secretary Xi Jinping made a jujube steamed bun in a few seconds. Looking at the various New Year steamed buns made by the villagers such as jujube flowers, rabbits, and small fishes, he praised them as "very auspicious" and "gives people a feeling of getting better every year and represents the longing of the majority of villagers for a better life."
"I'm here to see you and wish you a happy New Year!" In 2019, in Caochang Sitiao Hutong, Beijing, General Secretary Xi Jinping, who came to pay New Year's greetings, was invited by resident Zhu Maojin to make dumplings together.
While making dumplings, we chatted about home cooking. The General Secretary said that his family also likes to make dumplings stuffed with fennel. "You see, the more you pack, the better. The same is true in our lives, the more we pack, the better!"
On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2017, at the stove of a villager's house in Desheng Village, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, the General Secretary held chopsticks in one hand and a colander in the other and fried golden rice cakes. The rice cake is sweet and fragrant, and the aroma of oil rises along with the festive New Year flavor.
△On February 5, people shop for special delicacies at the Yellow River Market in Lanzhou, Gansu.
Preparing New Year's goods is the "most important event" for Chinese people during the New Year. If you have enough New Year’s goods, the flavor of the New Year will naturally become stronger.
From the Aimin Community Supermarket in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, to the New Year Shopping Expo in Kunming, Yunnan, to the specialty shops in the ancient city of Pingyao, Shanxi... In recent years, General Secretary Xi Jinping often visits markets, supermarkets, and shops before the Spring Festival to inspect market supplies, supply and sales of new year goods, Price movement and other conditions.
During the Spring Festival this year, many ancient towns in Shanghai are decorated with lights and colorful decorations to welcome the Spring Festival, and long queues form at "time-honored" food stores; in "Mihua Street" in Benzhuang Town, Tongren, Guizhou, fried rice flowers, which symbolize happiness, beauty, and festive reunion, fill the air with sweetness. The aroma of...
People are savoring the flavor of the Chinese New Year in the sweet, glutinous, spicy and all-inclusive New Year goods.
The flavor of the New Year has the charm of traditional culture
In Pingyao, Shanxi, people read Spring Festival couplets, admired lanterns, visited the intangible cultural heritage market, and watched the Shehuo Fire Tour... The "Year of China" event kicked off, and guests from all over the world fully experienced the charm of the ancient city.
Two years ago, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to this "living ancient city" and inspected the ancient city's features along the streets and alleys. He also visited Pingyao Beef Shop, Tuiguang Lacquerware Shop, and East Lake Old Vinegar Shop to learn about the protection and utilization of local cultural heritage and the development of characteristic operations. .
In the lacquerware shop, there is a dazzling array of various polished lacquerwares, which are full of brilliance. Elements such as "two dragons playing with pearls" and "dragon and phoenix presenting auspiciousness" add to the festive atmosphere of the New Year.
"Better carry forward China's excellent traditional culture and better serve economic and social development and people's high-quality life." In the mind of General Secretary Xi Jinping, culture is an important factor in meeting the people's growing needs for a better life.
Naadam is a national characteristic activity deeply loved by the Mongolian people. On the eve of the Spring Festival in 2014, at a traditional blessing ceremony, General Secretary Xi Jinping followed Mongolian customs, dipped his ring finger in fresh milk in a silver bowl and flicked it three times, wishing for good weather, prosperity for livestock, and happiness and health for the people in the coming year.
△In January 2014, on the occasion of the Spring Festival of the Lunar Year of the Horse, General Secretary Xi Jinping came to Inner Mongolia to visit cadres and people of all ethnic groups and extend his sincere New Year blessings to the people of all ethnic groups across the country.
In January 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the Simola Wa Village in Zhongzhai, Sanjia Village, Qingshui Town, Tengchong City, Yunnan Province. In the square, the villagers danced a cheerful Wa dance. In accordance with local custom, the General Secretary banged the Wa wooden drum three times to wish good weather and peace for the country and the people in the coming year.
"During the Spring Festival, various places can hold more cultural activities that are popular with the masses to make the festival more festive and joyful." General Secretary Xi Jinping specifically reminded during this inspection in Tianjin.
There are displays of traditional skills such as foreign films and acrobatic crosstalk, as well as small stalls selling fried enema and candied haws... During the Spring Festival this year, Beijing fully restored traditional temple fairs, activating many unique Spring Festival memories of old Beijing.
In Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the Kuahuqiao Heritage Museum has launched augmented reality technology services, allowing visitors to explore the lives of the ancestors here eight thousand years ago.
In Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, the Shaanxi Cuisine Culture Experience Museum attempts to restore ancient dishes described in Han Fu and Tang poems, allowing guests to appreciate the "rhyme" of traditional cuisine...
Inheriting the genes of China's excellent traditional culture, the cultural flavor of the Spring Festival comes from the depths of history, with endless strings and songs.
There is a warm feeling of wishing you a happy new year together
"To touch people's hearts, love is the first thing."
General Secretary Xi Jinping once said affectionately: "Today's society is changing rapidly. People are working all day and night, and running around for a living. But we must not forget the true feelings in the world. Don't cut off the true feelings in the long distance, and don't forget the true feelings in the daily busyness. Don’t lose sight of your true feelings in your hard work day and night.”
The mellow and long-lasting culture of the Spring Festival provides a spiritual residence for dream chasers on the run. The arrival of the Chinese Year has also brought every Chinese person closer together.
More than two months ago, during an inspection at the New Era City Builders and Managers' House in Minhang District, Shanghai, General Secretary Xi Jinping carefully enjoined that "a city must not only have height, but also warmth."
These days, the home of city builders and administrators is warm and cozy. In the shared kitchen, resident Ms. Zhang served steaming dumplings to the table. Urban strivers from all over the world and from all walks of life sit around eating dumplings and making homemade meals.
"This is my first time to welcome the New Year with so many strange friends. We all feel like family when we get along. It's so unforgettable. It's a foreign country but also my hometown!" Ms. Zhang couldn't hide her joy.
As long as the human touch is there, the flavor of the year will be there.
In Yuehe Village, Fengxian District, Shanghai, there is an "old tradition" that has lasted for seven years - during Laba Festival, the two big pots in the farmhouse will be simmering non-stop. As soon as the Laba porridge comes out of the pot, volunteers deliver it to the homes of the elderly to bring them New Year blessings.
In the Miao Village of Laershan Town, Fenghuang County, Hunan Province, four "post-90s" Miao guys formed a band to hold a "village evening" on their own, which was small in scale and sang about their hometown; villagers in Linfen, Shanxi Province used dustpans and soybeans as musical instruments to The suona and the intangible cultural heritage of Southern Shanxi were broadcast live to Miao villages thousands of kilometers away. The North-South Gala released unique excitement and attracted nearly 8 million online viewers...
The crowded stations and airports, the joyful and peaceful lights of thousands of houses, the joyful expressions of people purchasing New Year goods... The Chinese people's inheritance of New Year culture has never changed, and their feelings for their home and country have become more and more profound.
The Spring Festival, an ancient festival, carries the cultural genes and emotional needs of the Chinese people for thousands of years, and is glowing with the spirit of the times.
The world is full of fireworks, and the Chinese New Year is booming. In the strong New Year atmosphere, we see a vibrant and steaming China.
Producer | Geng Zhimin
Producer丨Xinglai
Editor-in-Chief丨Ning Lili
Written by Cheng Yu
Vision丨Jiang Yuhang