China’s Spring Festival successfully applied for World Heritage

In China, the Spring Festival marks the beginning of the new year, with the first day of the first lunar month in the traditional calendar as the beginning of the year. Before and after the Spring Festival, people carry out a series of social practices to bid farewell to the old and usher in the new, pray for blessings and good fortune, celebrate family reunions, and promote community harmony. This celebration process is commonly known as “Chinese New Year”. In addition to participating in public celebrations, people worship heaven and earth and ancestors, and pay New Year’s greetings to elders, relatives, friends and neighbors to express good wishes. This heritage project provides the Chinese people with a sense of identity and continuity.

So far, China has a total of 44 projects listed in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List and Register, ranking first in the world. Some of the well-known projects include: Peking Opera (selected in 2008), Chinese paper-cutting (selected in 2009), the 24 solar terms (selected in 2016) and Tai Chi (selected in 2020).

The Lunar New Year of the Snake is approaching, and lights are hung all over the country. Localities have carefully planned, and unique intangible cultural heritage performances and lively and festive folk activities are staged one after another. This Chinese New Year is joyful and peaceful, and spring is celebrated all over the world.