MK sports Korea East China's Zhejiang Province, practice dragon dancing under their teacher's guidance on January 22, 2025. Photo: VCG" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-01-09/a767e387-360f-4217-ab28-2e16a254cc84.jpeg" />

Primary school students in Huzhou City, East China's Zhejiang Province, practice dragon dancing under their teacher's guidance on January 22, 2025. Photo: VCG

Chinese President Xi Jinping has visited ordinary Chinese people and joined them in preparing for the Chinese New Year during an inspection trip to the northeastern industrial hub of Liaoning Province from Wednesday to Friday.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, extended his festive greetings to all Chinese people, wishing them happiness and health, and the country peace and prosperity in the Year of the Snake, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday. 

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, which falls on January 29 this year, is the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar and an occasion for family reunions.

The festival serves as a punctual biological clock imprinted in the hearts of the Chinese people. As the year draws to a close, families reunite, lanterns are hung, and reunion dinners are shared - these are cherished cultural traditions for every Chinese individual. During this joyful and festive period, people bid farewell to the old year while making hopeful wishes for the new one.

As it passed midnight at the Beijing West Railway Station on January 14, 2025, it was officially the first day of this year's Spring Festival travel rush. Outside it was chilly and dark, but inside buzzed with a palpable warmth, and the hope for the familiar comforts of home that enveloped the throngs of travelers.

Sixty-year-old Li, a security guard in Beijing, stood beside a towering pile of luggage. He grinned as he spoke about his grandchildren. He told the Global Times "the happiest thing about the Spring Festival is spending time with them." With his mother's birthday just two days later, he will be making preparations.

A 35-year-old construction worker named Du was fortunate to secure a ticket on the first day of the Spring Festival travel rush from Beijing to his hometown Fuyang in East China's Anhui Province. The thing he most looks forward to during the Spring Festival is reuniting with his parents, whom he hasn't seen in a year. 


A happy life for all

During his 2025 New Year message delivered at the last day of 2024, Xi said that "of all the jobs in front of us, the most important is to ensure a happy life for our people. Every family hopes that their children can have a good education, their seniors can enjoy good elderly services, and their youngsters can have more and better opportunities. These simple wishes are our people's aspirations for a better life. We should work together to steadily improve social undertakings and governance, build a harmonious and inclusive atmosphere, and settle real issues, big or small, for our people. We must bring more smiles to our people and greater warmth to their hearts."

A deliveryman Li Yuanyuan, 34, working in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, has gained fame online for taking his little daughter to work. 

In 2018, Li's daughter was born, and was named Fei'er. Due to financial constraints and lack of helpers to take care of  the child, Li had no choice but to put Fei'er in a delivery box and take her with him as he worked. 

Despite being put in a delivery box, Fei'er always wore a bright smile on her face. At the end of 2019, videos of the father and daughter unexpectedly went viral on Chinese social media, leaving users impressed by their optimism. Netizens affectionately referred to Fei'er as the "delivery baby."

In 2024, Li and his family moved in their new home, a mortgaged apartment in Changzhou they bought after saving money through years of hard work. "Although the house is only 60 square meters, it is always filled with laughter and happiness. I feel it is 'very big,'" Li told the Global Times.

Li said he was "just an ordinary person without grand ambitions." However, his humble wishes reflect the heartfelt desires of over 1.4 billion Chinese people. The story of Li's family, united and determined to overcome life's challenges, powerfully demonstrates the spirit of the hard-working Chinese people in pursuing a simple and happy life.

Xi said during his 2025 New Year message that "on the eve of the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland, I visited the city again, and I was gratified to see the new progress and changes there. We will unswervingly implement the policy of One Country, Two Systems to maintain long-term prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macao." 

Lao Ngai Leong, a member of the Executive Council for the sixth-term Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR), took their oaths of office administrated by Sam Hou Fai, Chief Executive of the Macao SAR on December 20.

Lao told the Global Times that his New Year's wish is to work together with the Executive Council for the sixth-term Government of the Macao SAR to implement the significant guiding requirements set forth by the leaders, and to innovate and expand upon the existing development foundation in Macao. He also mentioned that the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin will enter a new stage of development.


Shared aspirations 

Just days before the potential enforcement of a US government ban on TikTok, Chinese social media app RedNote has become crowded with foreign newcomers, mainly Americans, who call themselves "TikTok refugees."

Instead, users from around the globe engaged in lighthearted and humorous conversations on RedNote with Chinese netizens, discussing topics ranging from pet care and everyday life to makeup tips.

One RedNote user surnamed Xu expressed hope that "there won't be prejudice and that peace will prevail in the world" after witnessing the wave of exchanges between people of different nationalities and races on the platform. 

"Honestly, it is not part of a wish list, nor is it the ordinary wish of an ordinary person," said Xu, an illustrator. Xu told the Global Times that her experience on RedNote made her realize that there is little difference in people's lives across various parts of the world. "We all have to work hard for a better life; we think deeply about making money; we desire to be more attractive; we share jokes; we find comfort and healing in our dogs and cats; and we are touched by the goodwill and sincerity of others," she said.

Xin Yue, peacekeeping police, associate professor at the China Peacekeeping Police Training Center (CPPTC), has had the opportunity to provide training in Italy and Sweden representing Chinese police as master trainer for the United Nations Police training modules. As peacekeeping police, Xin had the feeling that China has transformed from followers to participants, and now to important leaders in peacekeeping missions. 

"I have felt the enhancement of our country's international status and its significant role in the ever-changing landscape of diplomacy," Xin told the Global Times. 

Xin was appointed as a police training officer in the Division of Policy, Evaluation and Training at the Department of Peace Operations, UN Headquarters in New York. "In the coming year, I hope our country's standing and influence within international organizations like the UN will continue to grow. I also aspire to contribute to this goal and engage in meaningful work."

From simple wish of family reunion in Spring Festival, to "bigger vision" for global peace and harmony, Chinese people's wishes for the Year of the Snake are not only about their confidence in and pursuit of better lives, but also showcase their hope for a better world and humanity.