NANJING, China, Jan. 23, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Walking around streets, shopping malls, fruit stores and grocery stores, people in China saw “Fu” characters, different kinds of rabbit-shaped installations and fragrant sausages all around, all of these marking the Chinese New Year of the Rabbit has arrived. On January 21, Modern Express, a well-known Chinese media, released a special video to celebrate the 2023 Chinese New Year.
In Nanjing Laomendong Historic District, stone carving archway is lit up with colorful lights. Rabbit lanterns along the street look particularly lovely. Gu Chuanjing, a young man from Nanjing, bought some colorful paper, planning to make a rabbit lantern himself. “Watching lanterns, buying lanterns and enjoying lantern display are the most profound taste of New Year in Nanjing people’s memories.”
Since the age of five or six, Gu Chuanjing has been learning to make lanterns from his father, Gu Yeliang. As far as he can remember, when his father started to get busy for the annual Qinhuai Lantern Festival, the Chinese New Year was around the corner.
In Hong Kong, a wide variety of Chinese New Year goods are available on Pottinger Street and Ladder Street. Red spring couplets look extra festive, bathed in golden sunlight. “Writing and sticking spring couplets brought a strong festive mood of New Year.” Zac Lee, a young man in Hong Kong, bought a pair of couplet paper and a piece of “Fu”. In the sound of the song “Gong Xi Fa Cai”, he wrote with an ink-dipped brush: “Spring is warm and the scenery is beautiful, the country is peaceful and the people are safe”. Every stroke is full of the most sincere New Year wishes. Spring couplets are put up to protect the small home inside the door.
In the Three Lamps District of Macao, the flower market is bustling. Various kinds of New Year flowers are in full bloom. Garmen, a young woman from Macao, strolled through the market and picked her favorite flowers. A bunch of red plums, a small pink flower, decorated with some small lanterns, the New Year flowers finished. Garmen said, “Flowers bloom for prosperity, and bamboo symbolizes peace. People in Macao like to visit New Year’s Eve flower markets, and wishing to get a good luck next year.”
At Dihua New Year Market in Taiwan, crowds of people are happily shopping for Chinese New Year goods. Hannah, a young woman from Taiwan, bought a red Kongming lantern. In her hometown, people always fly Kongmin lanterns during the Spring Festival. The higher the sky lantern flies, the better the fate of the coming year. In the sound of firecrackers, Kongming lanterns with a load of wishes are curling up into the sky one by one. “I wrote the wish ‘smile all the time’, and ‘congratulations on getting rich’, which people in Taiwan must say during the Chinese New Year.”
When a familiar new year celebration song rings in your ears, the memories of Chinese New Year are aroused. Looking up at the same night sky, this is a moment of celebration for all Chinese people. Please accept the common blessing from cross-Strait youth: “Happy New Year and wishing all of you prosperity and good fortune!”