This year was my third Spring Festival in China. My classmates and I went to an old Beijing courtyard house for the first time and spent the Spring Festival with the residents, we put up window decals, spring couplets and lanterns....... The whole courtyard was filled with laughter. I love Chinese calligraphy and have been practicing it for 5 years. I use a brush pen to write Chinese characters such as "福" (happiness) and "龙年大吉" (good luck in the year of the dragon) and give them to the residents in the neighborhood. Chinese New Year is my favorite traditional Chinese festival. Nowadays, Chinese New Year is not only for Chinese people, but also for many people in Cambodia, where Chinese food and culture are loved by more and more people.

I come from Bogota, the capital of Colombia. In 2019, Xi'an Railway Transportation Group and China Harbor Company established the Bogota Metro Line 1 Project Company in my hometown. In September 2023, as the company's first batch of overseas students, I came to Xi'an with 9 other colleagues to start a year-long professional study. On the eve of Chinese New Year, I participated in traditional Chinese cultural activities such as making traditional food and experiencing shadow puppets. I felt great when manipulating the shadow puppets by music and performing the shadow puppet! Over the past four months in China, I have gotten to know China better and I will share these wonderful experiences with my family and friends and invite them to visit Xi'an.

This year, I spent my first Chinese New Year in China and realized the unique charm of the Spring Festival. I was deeply touched by the strong sense of family as the streets and alleys were filled with red lanterns and colorful flags, and family members came home from all over the country to sit together and share food. Friends gave each other gifts and blessings, which made me deeply feel the emotional bond between people. I also experienced Chinese New Year customs such as making dumplings and setting off fireworks with my students and friends. It was an unforgettable experience. Chinese New Year has increased my understanding of China and taught me to cherish my cultural traditions even more.

On February 1, the 2024 Guangdong Dongguan Spring Flower Market opened. In addition to traditional flower and orange exhibitions and sales, this year's Chinese New Year Flower Market also incorporated colorful cultural activities such as dragon and lion dance parades, stage plays, concerts, and non-heritage, attracting many local people and Chinese and foreign tourists with its strong festive atmosphere. Photo taken at the Spring Festival Flower Market, where foreign tourists took photos after enjoying the flower show, strolling around the market and experiencing traditional Lingnan Chinese New Year folklore.

Since 2011, I have spent Spring Festival in Guizhou almost every year. Every year, I am invited to different friends' houses to celebrate Chinese New Year, and we have a very lively time chatting and eating together. This year, I participated in a Spring Festival writing activity in Guanxi Road Street, Wudang District, Guiyang City, and experienced paper cutting for the first time under the guidance of the staff, which deepened my understanding and love of China. Over the years, I have slowly learned the Guizhou dialect and have become a short video blogger, loved by many people on the internet. I like to record my life in China with videos, and often shoot some works about Guizhou food and culture. In the new year, I will continue to make good videos with full efforts and introduce Guizhou's food and culture to more friends.

Egyptians and Chinese have a similar understanding of "home" and "reunion". For the Chinese, the Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival, symbolizing happiness and reunion. It was a cold winter in Harbin, but the cold weather could not stop the sincerity and warmth of Harbin people. I took photos in front of the glittering ice lanterns on the Central Street, and the streets were full of people. The "New Year's flavor" and the warm hospitality of the people here made me feel very warm.

In 2008, as a member of an international design team, I was invited to participate in the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and came to Wanzai, Jiangxi Province, a place with a history of nearly 1,400 years of fireworks production. I worked in the scenic spot of the ancient city of Wanzai, Jiangxi Province. Every year, when the Spring Festival is approaching, the ancient city organizes various kinds of folklore exhibitions and performances. This year, I wrote "Fu" character, experienced dragon and lion dances, learned Nuo dance and lantern theater, I really like these charming Chinese folk culture. I hope to incorporate these elements into the fireworks show, integrating traditional and modern elements, so that fireworks shows rich in Chinese elements can go all over the world, lighting up the night sky of more countries, and providing audiences with a better artistic experience.

Many foreign friends in China celebrated the Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon in various ways, such as enjoying lantern festivals, strolling through bazaars, writing Chinese characters, cutting window papers, experiencing non-heritage arts and crafts, and taking part in the Spring Festival Celebration ....... They felt the unique charm of the Spring Festival in the exchange and mutual understanding of multiple cultures and the integration of each other.