Lifestyle
People across China are preparing for the upcoming Spring Festival by purchasing food for the reunion dinner, making festive decorations while holding colorful activities, and staging folk performances.
The Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year, is China's grandest traditional festival when people return to their hometowns for family reunions.
Celebrations traditionally last 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival.
At a village in Zhangshu City of east China's Jiangxi Province, a mountain delicacies festival was in full swing, where nearly 300 farmers showcased their bountiful harvests. The stalls overflowed with various local delicacies from preserved meat to dehydrated bamboo shoots, attracting visitors who seek to enrich their reunion dinner.
Amidst the search for mountain delicacies, visitors were also treated to colorful folk activities such as paper cuttings and making New Year paintings, which are popular decorations during the Spring Festival.
"At the mountain delicacies festival, we show off our harvest and mountain delicacies, and share our happy lives with everyone," said Zhou Yuying, a farmer.
At a market in Yuyao City of east China's Zhejiang Province, celebration activities such as solving lantern riddles attracted many visitors and lit up the air with excitement.
The market also featured stalls selling local specialty pastries, captivating the hearts of both children and adults with the regional flavor.
A village in Xiaochang County of central China's Hubei Province staged folk performances to entertain locals ahead of the Spring Festival, including vigorous waist drum dance, dragon dance, and opera. Spectators had dumplings while enjoying the performances.
On the other side of the stage, calligraphy enthusiasts handed out Spring Festival couplets written by themselves to villagers. Couplets are a two-sentence auspicious poem written on red paper. Hanging Spring Festival Couplets on doors and walls is a common and important custom when celebrating the Chinese New Year.
In a bustling food factory in Huozhou City of north China's Shanxi Province, workers were busy making steamed buns, a popular Spring Festival delicacy for local people. As the demand has surged, local authorities have mobilized over 120 food processing entities to make the delicious treats.