Greater Bay Area residents gather in Shenzhen for innovative Spring Festival celebrations

The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has launched a vibrant series of events that blend traditional culture with modern technology, drawing large crowds of people in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year here.

The Chinese New Year, also the Spring Festival, is China’s most important traditional holiday, symbolizing reunion, joy, and new beginnings. The 2025 Chinese New Year will fall on Wednesday, marking the beginning of a Year of the Snake.

In the Qianhai area of Shenzhen, nearly 100 young people from the Greater Bay Area on Thursday came together to make and enjoy traditional delicacies including dumplings, also known as jiaozi, and tangyuan, a kind of round and sweet dumpling made of glutinous rice flour, symbolizing harmony and unity.

Hong Kong resident surnamed Ho expressed her enthusiasm for the event.

“This activity is wonderful! With the New Year approaching, it really brings out the festive spirit and helps strengthen our relationships,” she said.

In the Luohu district of Shenzhen, innovative activities such as robotic calligraphy and drones displaying Spring Festival couplets, or Chunlian in Chinese, have attracted numerous visitors.

The city’s flower markets are also bustling with GBA tourists, with a diverse array of flowers and decorations for sale.

“I’d like to buy some flowers carrying auspicious meanings to gift to my friends,” said a local resident.

Currently, Shenzhen is hosting various Spring Festival events across its 11 districts, with around 4,000 flower market stalls in business.

The city has also rolled out nearly 600 promotional activities and numerous exciting travel products, drawing many residents from Hong Kong and Macao to celebrate the New Year in Shenzhen.

“In order to promote youth exchange and integration among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, we have invited young people who are having the New Year in Shenzhen to come together joyfully and immerse themselves in the charm of traditional Chinese culture,” said Li You, an official with the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League of China.

“This offers more young people from Hong Kong and Macao a glimpse into the development of our motherland through the Greater Bay Area, encouraging us to take part in national development,” said Teng Chenghoi, a Hong Kong visitor.

The Spring Festival vibes have increased to a peak in the Chinatown in Los Angeles as celebrations including grand parade were held there, offering visitors a rich cultural experience and an opportunity to engage in exchanges between China and the United States.

The Spring Festival has always been an occasion for family reunion and for special celebrations, and is considered one of the most important festivals of the year for the Asian-American community in the United States.

The 2025 Spring Festival falls on Wednesday with special events being scheduled in Chinatowns in large cities like Los Angeles from late January all the way into the middle of February.

The events in Los Angeles Chinatown featured captivating parade and rounds of dances, and the tourists could have the opportunity to write their best wishes for the Year of the Snake on small wooden plaques, a tradition believed to bring good luck in the new year.

Celebrations like these provide opportunities for Americans and for foreign visitors to get acquainted with Chinese traditions and customs.

“We had a lovely meal at Yang Chao’s restaurant. And there’s all kinds of pictures of celebrities that are frequent there as well, and the prices are very good. Yeah, it’s a new experience,” said Joanne, a visitor.

“It’s a beautiful culture. From my heart, I admire the Chinese culture. And here we saw the Bruce Lee statue, that taught us about the martial arts and what a great discipline that is. We also visited several stores. There are beautiful clothes and something really useful,” said Carolina, another visitor.

Across the United States, festive occasions held to celebrate Spring Festival serve as valuable opportunities to foster meaningful people-to-people connections between China and the U.S., underscoring the significance of cultural exchange between the two countries.