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E-mail China Daily, January 17, 2025
A video on Spring Festival is played during the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Asuncion, Paraguay, Dec. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Zhu Yubo)
When people mark Chinese New Year on January 29 it will be the first time after the festival and social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of the traditional New Year were included on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
The State Council issued a notice on Monday declaring further optimization of tourism policies, including the orderly expansion of the visa-exempt countries list. During the recent New Year holiday, the number of foreign nationals entering China increased by nearly 34 percent compared to last year. A travel platform even predicted that during this year's Spring Festival, the number of travel orders from foreign tourists to China will increase by 203 percent over last year.
China can use the favorable visa policies to showcase the intangible cultural connotations of Spring Festival with the world, enhancing the economic vitality of the festival.
The reason why Spring Festival has become such a notable representative of Chinese culture is because of the rich cultural connotations and widespread public participation. The evolution from ancient practices to today's Chinese New Year reflects how Chinese traditions are passed on from generation to generation. But it is not only a unique festival for the Chinese people, it has also been gradually accepted and celebrated around the world, becoming a global cultural event.
Over time, Spring Festival has been innovating itself while preserving traditions. Spring Festival's connotations and functions are rich and diverse. Apart from participating in the various activities related to Spring Festival, young people should also share knowledge about the festival with others.
As a large number of foreign tourists pour in, this year's Spring Festival could see increased footfall at museums and cultural heritage sites. Also, with the integration of culture and tourism and the empowerment of digitalization, people may use technologies such as blockchain to create digital assets to send as blessings. We look forward to this year's Spring Festival becoming a model for inheriting and promoting China's intangible cultural heritage and culture.
