Friday, February 9, 2024
A report from the People’s Daily highlights the significance of the Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, as a rich tapestry of customs and traditions, presenting an ideal opportunity for cultural exploration.
Dai Bin, the president of the China Tourism Academy, predicts that the 2024 Spring Festival holiday will emerge as a “super golden week,” witnessing heightened enthusiasm for travel and spending.
In response, China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism has unveiled a diverse array of 25 Spring Festival-themed activities across seven categories. These activities encompass cultural performances, public service initiatives, experiences of intangible cultural heritage, leisure and tourism, winter sports, educational excursions, as well as domestic and international celebrations, offering abundant choices for revelers to commemorate the Chinese New Year and revel in the festive spirit.
Museums remain focal points for offline cultural exploration, with 2023 statistics revealing a staggering 1.24 billion visits nationwide, doubling the figure from 2022.
For the 2024 Spring Festival period, national and provincial museums will welcome visitors, presenting not only their permanent collections but also themed exhibitions centered around the Year of the Dragon and other featured displays.
China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration reports plans for over 400 themed exhibitions nationwide, featuring topics such as the culture of northern Xinjiang and a digital showcase of cultural relics related to the legendary dragon, or “Loong,” curated by the Shaanxi History Museum.
Moreover, more than 1,000 social and cultural events are scheduled, including interactive experiences and performances of ancient Chinese music, promising a veritable cultural extravaganza for attendees to savor.
“Since last year, new trends have emerged in the stage performance market, with many people hitting new destinations to attend art performances,” said Zhang Yi, an official with China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
During this year’s Spring Festival, 10 national art troupes directly administered by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism will stage 204 live performances featuring Peking Opera classics, dance dramas, and A musical produced by the China National Theatre for Children.
Moreover, platforms like Art China and others online will broadcast special programs for Chinese New Year, highlighting China’s stage arts’ splendid achievements and artistic essence from the past year to the audience.
Besides savoring top-notch art performances, people can immerse themselves in the festive ambiance worldwide through videos, live streams, and Chinese New Year-themed songs on their mobile phones without stepping out of their homes.
Recently, Changsha, in central China’s Hunan province, hosted a lively livestream event to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, organized by the China Association of Performing Arts in partnership with Douyin, Kuaishou, Tencent Video, and other platforms. The dedicated livestream areas allowed netizens to experience the joyful Spring Festival atmosphere virtually.
Across China, various regions are tapping into their unique cultural and tourism resources to offer diverse Spring Festival travel products.
Regions like Jilin, Liaoning, and Xinjiang are blending local resources such as sports, recreation, hot springs, and folk activities to host vibrant Chinese New Year events, featuring ice and snow-themed tourism products and public-friendly offers.
Eleven provinces, including Anhui, Jiangxi, and Sichuan, are organizing study tour activities focusing on natural ecology and regional cultural characteristics. For instance, Sichuan’s tour spotlights panda habitats, while Shandong showcases traditional Chinese etiquette.
The “Happy Chinese New Year” festivities have been celebrated globally for over two decades, encompassing family day activities in the U.S., Trafalgar Square parades in the UK, temple fairs in Russia, and grand temple fairs in Egypt.
As the 2024 Spring Festival nears, “Happy Chinese New Year” activities will unfold in nearly 100 countries and regions worldwide, featuring almost 500 diverse exchange events. Approximately 20 countries, including the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, and New Zealand, will host lantern lighting ceremonies, spreading the joy and harmony of the Chinese New Year across the globe.
Shi Zeyi, deputy director of the international exchange and cooperation bureau of China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, emphasized that during the Spring Festival, various tourism promotion initiatives overseas will encourage domestic enterprises to offer culturally rich inbound tourism products, enabling more foreign tourists to experience the charm of the Chinese New Year in China.
Saturday, April 27, 2024
