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Spring Festival lanterns in Nanning, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on January 22, 2025. Photo: VCG

 
Picture a time when the world comes together, not in the face of adversity, but in shared celebration and joy. That occasion is the Spring Festival, a time-honored tradition that has transcended its roots as a cherished Chinese cultural treasure to become a vivid celebration of universal values. At its heart, the Spring Festival symbolizes hope, togetherness, and the universal desire for a better future. These values go beyond borders and cultures, reflecting the shared aspirations of all humanity.

The Spring Festival is one of the most important traditional festivals of the Chinese nation. During the Spring Festival, Chinese people living around the world engage in various celebrations to welcome renewal and embrace the new year. This festival, which bids farewell to the old and prays for good fortune, reflects the enduring wisdom and philosophy of an ancient civilization.

Now, the joys of Spring Festival are no longer limited to China but are spreading globally, shared among people from different cultural backgrounds - on December 4, 2024, the Spring Festival was successfully inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, emphasizing its universal cultural significance. 

Even before being inscribed on the intangible cultural heritage list, the Spring Festival was recognized as a statutory holiday in nearly 20 countries, showcasing its growing global influence. Today, approximately one-fifth of the world population celebrates the occasion in various forms. Many national leaders will visit local Chinese communities and deliver congratulatory speeches during the Spring Festivals, highlighting the fact that with the rise of China's international status and influence, Chinese culture is increasingly valued worldwide, Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Peking University, who is also a national political advisor, told the Global Times.

"The Spring Festival is no longer merely a cultural heritage of China. It has transcended national and ethnic boundaries, evolving into a cultural symbol that is widely accepted, recognized, and appreciated globally," Zhang said. 

Foreign visitors experience traditional Chinese New Year customs in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province on January 18, 2025. Photo: VCG

Tearing down the wall

This year's Spring Festival is poised to be extraordinary in both digital and physical spaces. In the past, the Spring Festival was more of a "grand celebration" cherished mostly by Chinese people both at home and abroad. However, this year, with this rare blending of Chinese and Western cultures, the beautiful aspiration of "world harmony" has genuinely come to life.

Fearing the shutdown of TikTok in the US, a scene never was imagined unveiled magically to the world: tens of thousands of "TikTok refugees" flocked to the Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu, or Red Note, sharing photos of their pets, giving a tour to their finely-decorated houses, recording daily lives, and showing keen interest in Chinese culture and traditions. 

Although TikTok has now resumed operations, many foreign users have chosen to remain on Xiaohongshu - "It's the hospitality and warmth absent from any other social media platform that kept us here," they said. 

With the Spring Festival just around the corner, many foreign users excitedly expressed on Xiaohongshu that they will "stay" to witness the bustling scenes of the Chinese New Year. Meanwhile, Chinese bloggers are also actively introducing the "Spring Festival culture" to their foreign friends. Some posted recipes of their family's Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, some shared the magnificent photos of temple fairs and lantern shows in various Chinese localities, and some explaining the customs of pasting Spring Festival couplets and hanging lanterns.

"It is absolutely wild. The cultural exchange that's happening right now between American citizens and Chinese citizens for the first time in human history - it's like this portal opened up between two different populations… that have been 'at ends' with each other… it's this wild event where cultural walls are being torn down," the Global Times learned from "tagalogkurt," a "TikTok refugee" who posted a video sharing his thoughts on Xiaohongshu. 

In addition to the online space, China's relaxation of its visa policies has allowed more foreigners to explore the length and breadth of this year's Spring Festival. 

China announced a significant expansion of its visa-free transit policy in December 2024, allowing eligible foreign travelers to stay up to 240 hours, or 10 days, compared to the previous limits of 72 and 144 hours. From the experience of butchering pigs to prepare feasts for their fellow villagers, to the bustling lantern festivals in Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden, foreigners are immersing themselves in the festive atmosphere even more than the locals do.

Data from Ctrip show that by far, inbound tourism orders during the Spring Festival have surged by an impressive 203 percent compared to the same period last year. South Korea tops the list of source countries, with orders soaring by 452 percent compared to the same period last year. Other major source countries include Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, the US, Australia, Thailand, the UK, Russia, and Vietnam.

"The Spring Festival, as the name implies, marks the arrival of spring, symbolizing renewal, growth, hope, and a promising future. It is also the most important time of the year for family reunions and gatherings of relatives and friends. These themes carry universal significance. It not only embodies the perseverance, hard work, optimism, and harmony of the Chinese people but also reflects the global aspiration for a better life," Zhang told the Global Times. 

At its core, the Spring Festival is a celebration of hope. It invites people to shed the burdens of the past, and to step into the future with renewed purpose. It shows that life, like the seasons, is ever-changing, and within each change lies the seed of possibility.

"Beyond personal happiness, the meaning of the festival extends to the values of family harmony, national prosperity, and global peace. This is why the cultural symbol of the Spring Festival can resonate with the world," Zhang said.