Spring Festival celebrations, Lunar New Year events, etc...

ahojunk · Jan 28, 2017

This 3 min video has English subtitles.

Exclusive: CGTN talks to the director of CCTV Spring Festival Gala 2017

CGTN
Published on Jan 27, 2017

Yang Dongsheng, the director of this year's CCTV Spring Festival Gala, speaks to CGTN before the start of the show, which is being broadcast not just in China, but worldwide. What’s the theme of the 2017 show? What’s the difference between the Spring Festival Gala and the Academy Awards? And what can be done to further enhance the gala? Take a look at his vision for Spring Festival Gala 2017.

ahojunk · Jan 28, 2017

Chinese leaders extend Spring Festival greetings
(Xinhua) 09:45, January 27, 2017

Chinese President Xi Jinping, on behalf of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, delivers a speech to extend Spring Festival greetings to all Chinese at a reception in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 26, 2017. This year's Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Jan. 28. [Photo: Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping, on behalf of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, extended Spring Festival greetings to all Chinese Thursday at a reception in Beijing.

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivered his speech to a gathering at the Great Hall of the People, greeting all Chinese in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and abroad.

The reception was presided over by Li Keqiang. Other leaders including Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli were also present.

Addressing the event, Xi said China has made a good start to the country's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) and taken various works to a new level in 2016.

Economic growth continued to rank among the top in the world. The first battles have been won in the final campaign against poverty. The lives of the people have continued to improve and major achievements have been made in reform and opening-up, he said.

China achieved breakthroughs in national defense and military reform, promoted rule of law, and advanced strict governance of the CPC, Xi added.

The country has made major contributions to world peace and development with its own development and progress, the president said.

"The Chinese people have great dreams, but also have a great spirit to work hard and endure hardship to realize such dreams," Xi said.

He called on the people to salute to those diligent, brave Chinese people as well as to heroes, model workers, veterans and all who contribute to the country's development.

In 2017, the CPC will convene its 19th National Congress, setting out a new blueprint for socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said.

The president called on all Party members, the military and people of all ethnic groups to unite closely around the CPC Central Committee and make new progresses to prepare for the 19th CPC National Congress.

Xi stressed that the Chinese nation highly values true affection and righteousness. He called for treating others with honesty and sincerity, and being open and above board in life.

Xi hoped that under the leadership of the CPC, all of the people in the country can roll up their sleeves to work hard for the goal of building a moderately prosperous society, achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and building a community of shared destiny for all humanity.

This year's Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Jan. 28.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (front R) shakes hands with Chinese nationals at a reception in Beijing, capital of China, to extend Spring Festival greetings to all Chinese, Jan. 26, 2017.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (front R) shakes hands with Chinese nationals at a reception in Beijing, capital of China, to extend Spring Festival greetings to all Chinese, Jan. 26, 2017.

ahojunk · Jan 28, 2017

Lanterns are synonymous with Spring Festival.

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Lantern fair in Shaoxing, east China's Zhejiang
(Xinhua) 18:53, January 26, 2017

Lantern fair held in Shaoxing, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 25, 2017. (Xinhua/Yuan Yun)

Jan. 25, 2017 Festive lanterns in Shaoxing, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Yuan Yun)

Jan. 25, 2017 Festive lanterns in Shaoxing, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Yuan Yun)

Jan. 25, 2017 Festive lanterns during a lantern fair in Shaoxing, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Yuan Yun)

Jan. 25, 2017 Festive lanterns during a lantern fair in Shaoxing, east China's Zhejiang Province. (Xinhua/Yuan Yun)

ahojunk · Jan 28, 2017

Lanterns all over China to greet Spring Festival
(Xinhua) 14:02, January 27, 2017

Jan. 25, 2017 A illuminated road in Qingdao, Shandong Province.

Lantern fair in Rongshui County of Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Jan. 26, 2017.

Lantern fair in Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai on Jan. 25, 2017.

Lantern fair in Chongqing city on Jan. 26, 2017.

Jan. 24, 2017 Colored lanterns in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province.

Lanterns at the Bao'en Temple Heritage Park in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province on Jan. 24, 2017.

ahojunk · Jan 28, 2017

Ah, the red envelopes, a distinctive Chinese tradition is going high tech.

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75 pct of Chinese to give out digital 'red envelopes'
2017-01-26 13:46 CRIENGLISH.com Editor: Gu Liping

More and more Chinese people have followed the fashion of giving out digital "red envelopes," cash gifts exchanged through a smartphone app, to friends and relatives while celebrating the Spring Festival, also known as Chinese lunar New Year.

A survey conducted by United Overseas Bank (UOB) showed that three quarters of Chinese people plan to give out their "red envelopes" through their smartphones during the Spring Festival holidays, China Youth Daily reported.

And the reason for the increasing popularity of the digital "red envelope" over the traditional ones is because of the freshness, fun and convenience it brings, the survey shows.

Lately, updates to Tencent's QQ and Alipay, two popular apps in China, have added to the fun people can experience while giving out and grabbing the digital "red envelope." With the introduction of Augmented Reality (AR) technology, grabbing the digital "red envelope" through these two apps will be similar to playing the game Pokemon Go.

In the meantime, another survey by Rong360, an online financing platform, has shown some worrying results. It said nearly 21 percent of the people surveyed said they used to be at odds with their friends or relatives because of digital "red envelopes." Nearly 20 percent of the people surveyed said that the atmosphere of New Year celebrations was affected with family members busily grabbing "red envelopes" through the phones.

The Rong360 survey also showed that 46 percent of those surveyed said they had given out "red envelopes" just to get people to praise or forward their postings on social media like WeChat or Weibo. But over 29 percent of people said that they will just ignore these digital "red envelopes".

The giving of red envelopes on occasions like Chinese New Year is a tradition among the Chinese people. Typically, older members of the family give the red envelopes to the children in the family to celebrate lunar New Year.

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ahojunk · Jan 30, 2017

WeChat sees record high of Spring Festival red packets
2017-01-29 09:31 Xinhua Editor: Huang Mingrui

WeChat, China's major instant messaging app, said Saturday that some 14.2 billion red packets (known as "hongbao" in Chinese) were given and received on WeChat on Friday alone, the eve of Spring Festival.

This is 75.7 percent higher than last year, according to WeChat, which is operated by Tencent.

Some 340 million users, also a record high, shared red packets on QQ, another social media platform under Tencent.

New forms of red packets such as "face-to-face and AR red packets" were adopted. Lin Yuwen, a Beijing resident, said he distributed red packets totaling 1,200 yuan (175 U.S. dollars) on Friday, almost double the amount last year.

The Chinese Lunar New Year, which this year is the Year of the Rooster, fell on Saturday.

It is common for Chinese to distribute "hongbao," traditionally money in red envelopes, among friends and relatives during Spring Festival.

Analysts say the electronic red packets are used by Internet giants to expand their shares in the mobile payment market.

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If you are Chinese, you can't run away from red packets.
Either you give them or you look forward to getting them.
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ahojunk · Jan 30, 2017

Xi's Lunar New Year speech inspires nation
2017-01-28 07:57 Xinhua Editor: Yao Lan

Chinese President Xi Jinping, on behalf of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, delivers a speech to extend Spring Festival greetings to all Chinese at a reception in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 26, 2017. This year's Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Jan. 28. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

The President's latest appeal for diligence and hard work has sparked heated discussion and spread inspiration and confidence across the nation.

Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extended Spring Festival greetings to all Chinese Thursday at a reception in Beijing on behalf of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council.

The reception was presided over by Li Keqiang. Other leaders including Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli were also present.

This year's Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Jan. 28.

Addressing the event, Xi lauded China's continued economic growth as well as the deepened reform it underwent in 2016, pointing to improved lives of the people, advanced rule of law and strict governance of the CPC, as well as progress made in the war against poverty.

China's rural population living in poverty decreased from 770 million to 55.75 million between 1978 and 2015.

An additional 10 million people shook off poverty last year, and China aims to help at least another 10 million become members of the well-off society this year.

For decades, poverty alleviation has been a top priority on China's policy agenda. Just this week Xi said, during an inspection tour to north China's Hebei Province, that fighting poverty is the fundamental task in building an all-round moderately prosperous society.

But he said poverty alleviation is getting more and more difficult as it nears the end.

His words were echoed by Tang Jianzhen, an official in charge of poverty alleviation and development with the Henan Mongolian Autonomous County in northwest China's Qinghai Province.

"Although we managed to get ourselves off the national list of impoverished counties, the task to ensure all residents take their rightful place as citizens of a well-off society remains daunting," he said, "We should not feel at ease now."

In his address, Xi also stressed that China highly values true affection and righteousness. He said everyone should treat others with honesty and sincerity, and be open and above board in life.

He also called on the nation to salute those diligent, brave Chinese as well as the nation's heroes, model workers, veterans and all who contribute to the country's development.

"The Chinese people have great dreams, but also have a great spirit to work hard and endure hardship to realize such dreams," Xi said.

He said he hoped that under the leadership of the CPC, all of the people in the country can roll up their sleeves to work hard for the goal of building a moderately prosperous society, achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and building a community of shared destiny for all humanity.

Shi Haimei, a table tennis coach from Anshan City in Liaoning Province, identifies with Xi's call for hard work.

"It is through hard work and training that our national team did so well at the Rio Olympics," said Shi, who had coached world number one Ma Long early in his career.

"Not just sports, there is nothing you could achieve without hard work. There are simply no short cuts," she said.

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ahojunk · Jan 30, 2017

Temple fair of Badachu Park in Beijing
2017-01-29 10:05 Xinhua Editor: Huang Mingrui

Candied fruit at a temple fair of the Badachu Park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Jundong)

Praying for a good fortune by lighting a lotus lamp at a temple fair of the Badachu Park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Jundong)

Beating a drum at a temple fair of the Badachu Park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Jundong)

Prayer at a temple fair of the Badachu Park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Jundong)

A lamb shashlik vendor at a temple fair in Badachu Park in Beijing, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Jundong)

People queue to pray for good luck in Lingguang Temple in Badachu Park in Beijing, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Jundong)

ahojunk · Jan 30, 2017

Kunming's hospitable weather attracts visitors
2017-01-29 09:52 Xinhhua Editor: Huang Mingrui

Daguan park in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, Jan. 28, 2017. Kunming's hospitable weather during the Spring Festival attracted many visitors. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)

Daguan park in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, Jan. 28, 2017. Kunming's hospitable weather during the Spring Festival attracted many visitors. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)

Daguan park in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, Jan. 28, 2017. Kunming's hospitable weather during the Spring Festival attracted many visitors. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)

Daguan park in Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, Jan. 28, 2017. Kunming's hospitable weather during the Spring Festival attracted many visitors. (Xinhua/Lin Yiguang)

ahojunk · Jan 30, 2017

China witnesses tourism peak on first day of Lunar New Year
2017-01-29 10:11 Xinhua Editor: Huang Mingrui

According to data from the China National Tourism Administration, on Saturday, the number of tourists received in China reached 65.2 million, generating income totaled 76 billion yuan (around 11.1 billion U.S. dollars).

Kuanzhai Lane Historic District in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin)

Kuanzhai Lane Historic District in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Xue Yubin)

Tourists cram the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai, east China, Jan. 28, 2017. Shanghai witnessed a tourism peak on the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

Tourists at Shijingshan amusement park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Jundong)

Tourists at Shijingshan amusement park in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Jundong)

Tourists have fun on ice rink at Summer Palace in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

According to data from the China National Tourism Administration, on Saturday, the number of tourists received in China reached 65.2 million, generating income totaled 76 billion yuan (around 11.1 billion U.S. dollars).

ahojunk · Jan 30, 2017

China's Lunar New Year holiday to become global 'Golden Week'
2017-01-28 10:40 Xinhua Editor: Yao Lan

China's week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which began Friday, is set to become a "Golden Week" for overseas tourist destinations as this year more than 6 million Chinese chose to spend the holiday abroad.

The Lunar New Year holiday is usually a time for family reunions and celebrations, but now as more and more Chinese travel overseas, the China National Tourism Administration described it as a "global Golden Week."

Since the year 2000, China lengthened its three major public holidays -- Spring Festival, May Day and National Day -- from three days to seven days. They soon became known as "golden weeks," when people can travel and gather with families, boosting travel and hospitality sectors' revenue.

Based on a survey conducted by the administration, the United States was the most popular long-haul outbound destination during the holiday, followed by Britain, Spain, Germany and Switzerland.

Australia, New Zealand and Thailand are attracting the most Chinese tourists as medium- or short-haul destinations, while China's Hong Kong and Macao remain the major nearby destinations, according to the survey.

According to a report by Ctrip, a travel website, Chinese tourists are expected to spend 100 billion yuan (about 14.5 billion U.S. dollars) in total over the week.

Ctrip saw great potential in China's outbound tourism as a result of higher incomes, simpler visa procedures and more flights.

China has been the world's largest consumption country for overseas tourism for four consecutive years, contributing more than 13 percent to global tourism income.

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ahojunk · Jan 30, 2017

Dragon Dance to celebrate Chinese lunar new year in Wuhan
2017-01-29 11:06 Xinhua Editor: Huang Mingrui

Locals perform a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron which sparks like fireworks in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Jan. 28, 2017. The performance was held to celebrate Chinese lunar new year. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)

Locals perform a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron which sparks like fireworks in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Jan. 28, 2017. The performance was held to celebrate Chinese lunar new year. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)

Locals perform a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron which sparks like fireworks in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Jan. 28, 2017. The performance was held to celebrate Chinese lunar new year. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)

Locals perform a fire dragon dance in a shower of molten iron which sparks like fireworks in Wuhan, Hubei Province, Jan. 28, 2017. The performance was held to celebrate Chinese lunar new year. (Xinhua/Xiong Qi)

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There are so many activities happening all over the country.
Such a big country, so many things to do.
So rich in culture, so many places to go.
So many choices, so little time. Sigh!

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Tourism booming during Spring Festival holiday
2017-01-30 11:52 Xinhua Editor:Mo Hong'e

Visitors cram to a bank on the West Lake scenic spot during the Spring Festival holiday in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Long Wei)

Visitors queue to cross the Shitiao Bridge during Spring Festival holiday in Huangyao ancient town, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Jan. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Liao Zuping)

Tourists cram to the Bund during the Spring Festival holiday in Shanghai, east China, Jan. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Tian Yiwei)

Tourists enjoy seaside scenery during Spring Festival holiday in Sanya, south China's Hainan Province, Jan. 29, 2017. (Xinhua/Cao Zhengping)

ahojunk · Feb 1, 2017

Lantern fair held in SW China's Chongqing
2017-01-31 11:48 Xinhua Editor: Gu Liping