Prosperity and Happiness! This is How the First Spring Festival After the Heritage Application Was Celebrated

 The Spring Festival: A Celebration of Tradition and Unity

The Spring Festival is the first of all festivals, and spring takes precedence over all seasons.
As the Yi-Si New Year gently arrives, people rush to reunite with their families, exchange New Year greetings, and gather together... The familiar atmosphere of the holiday is all around.
Chinese people have celebrated this holiday for thousands of years, but now it has gained a brand-new significance. Over a month ago, “Spring Festival—The Social Practice of Celebrating the Traditional Chinese New Year” was successfully included in UNESCO's list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

From “traditional festival” to “cultural heritage,” from “Chinese New Year” to “global New Year,” the taste of the Yi-Si Spring Festival now resonates more deeply with people’s hearts.

The longing for “harmony” is more fulfilling—
Returning home for the New Year, reuniting with family. The rich and diverse activities during the Spring Festival embody the Chinese people's longing for “harmony”.
According to forecasts from the transportation and other departments, during the 2025 Spring Festival travel season, the total inter-regional movement of people is expected to reach 9 billion trips, setting a new historical record.

The “Moving China” not only reflects vitality but also strength: today, the country’s comprehensive, multi-dimensional transportation network stretches over 6 million kilometers, with infrastructure continuously being optimized. The spatial distance of “home” is growing closer, resulting in faster and more accessible reunions.

January 25: Passengers waiting in the waiting room at Ningbo Railway Station. Photo by Xinhua News Agency (Zou Xun Yong)

The reunion dinner, full of ceremony, also has a new flavor.

According to business big data monitoring, before the festival, large wholesale markets for agricultural and sideline products in various regions had sufficient stocks of daily necessities, and prices remained generally stable. An increasing number of key supermarkets have extended their business hours and launched home delivery services.

Meituan data also shows that searches related to “New Year’s Eve dinner reservations” and “New Year’s Eve restaurant recommendations” increased by 256% month-on-month, while online reservations for New Year’s Eve dinners grew by 305% compared to last year. The demand for “intangible cultural heritage foods” has surged.

From stocking up for the whole family to buying and eating as you go, from cooking at home to dining out, from having home-cooked meals to tasting local specialties… The increasingly delicious and convenient reunion dinners reflect the harmonious culture of the Chinese people, flowing from the dining table.

The pursuit of “beauty” has become even richer—

The “Double Beauties of Qingcheng” reenacted the story of “The Legend of the White Snake,” and the colorful lights of the Huaxia Divine Land series resembled a fairyland descending to earth… On the evening of January 17, 2025, the “Intangible Cultural Heritage Celebrates the Spring Festival: Lighting Up China’s Lanterns” event for the Year of the Snake began in Zigong, Sichuan, showcasing 27 representative intangible cultural heritage lantern festival projects from 15 provinces and cities across China.

The "Double Beauties of Qingcheng" Lantern at the China Lantern World in Zigong, Sichuan Province, taken on January 17. Photo by Xinhua News Agency, reporter Tang Wenhao

In the ancient customs of admiring lanterns, visiting temple fairs, and celebrating local festivals, the Chinese people’s pursuit of beauty remains unchanged. With the addition of advanced sound, light, and electronic technology, the beauty of the Spring Festival is being presented in increasingly rich forms.

This year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism has focused on promoting 10 key “Intangible Cultural Heritage Celebrates the Spring Festival” activities, many of which are related to new technologies and creative ideas. These include:

• The “Cultural Heritage Promotes Chinese Culture” campaign, which carries out online promotional activities for intangible cultural heritage during the Spring Festival;
• “My Hometown’s New Year” video streaming events that allow people from various regions to share and experience their hometown’s festive spirit online;
• The “Intangible Cultural Heritage Celebrates the Spring Festival: AI China Year” event, which uses technology to empower the inheritance and dissemination of intangible cultural heritage.

The more creative and wide-ranging Spring Festival folk activities and intangible heritage practices make the festive atmosphere even stronger and life more beautiful.

The New Fashion has become even more vibrant—
“New” has become the adjective for the year.
“What new movies are you planning to watch?” “Have you heard the new songs on the Spring Festival Gala?” “Which new clothes will you wear to visit relatives?” The choices for the new year have expanded.
Watching movies has become a new tradition for the holiday. According to the National Film Bureau, on the first day of the New Year, the box office reached 1.805 billion yuan, with 35.15 million viewers, setting new records for single-day box office and viewership.
Traveling has also become a new fashion for the New Year.
Data from the Tongcheng Travel Platform shows that on Chinese New Year's Eve, the flow of visitors to major tourist attractions nationwide increased by more than 40% compared to the day before the holiday, with the largest increases seen at theme parks and cultural heritage sites, popular with family visitors. After the reunion dinner on New Year's Eve, many families have made visiting attractions together their new tradition for ringing in the new year.

On January 29, tourists visiting the Nanshan Cultural Tourism Area in Sanya, Hainan Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency (Chen Wenwu)

More and more new New Year traditions are emerging: visiting large markets, buying trendy toys, and抢红包 (snatching red envelopes)... Amid the "creative" celebrations of the young generation, intangible cultural heritage and traditional Spring Festival customs are breathing new life into the holiday.

The Trendy Flavor is gaining more attention—
Recently, the “New Year Greetings, Celebrate Together”—2025 China Cultural Spring Festival Overseas Promotion Event kicked off in multiple locations around the world. Using Spring Festival cultural-themed creative products as a bridge, this event sent cultural gifts carrying the spirit of China to overseas friends and extended holiday greetings.

In many corners of the world, foreign friends are immersing themselves in the unique charm of Chinese culture:

• In Dubai, UAE, professional models tried on traditional “Mamen Skirts”;
• In Granada, Spain, Chinese and foreign friends gathered to drink tea and discuss philosophy;
• At the “New Year’s Grand Market” in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the intangible cultural heritage displayed through cultural products attracted local audiences to stop and admire...

On January 25, at the China Cultural Center in Cotonou, Benin, performers showcased a lion dance during the Spring Festival Gala. Photo by Xinhua News Agency (Seraphin)

As "China Travel" became a global buzzword in 2024, the Spring Festival, elevated to a "global New Year," has attracted more attention from people worldwide.

According to Ctrip data, the inbound tourism market during the Spring Festival holiday has seen further growth. In the past month, ticket orders for intangible cultural heritage projects such as "Lantern Festivals," "Peking Opera," and "Sichuan Opera Face Changing" have increased more than six times compared to last year. It is expected that intangible cultural heritage experiences will continue to see even greater growth.

Always harmonious and forever trendy, the Spring Festival shines brighter with each passing year.

With the best hopes for the future, we look toward the new spring, wishing that our lives may be “Yi-Si” (smooth and fulfilling), and that our culture will continue to thrive.