As a globally renowned brand activity of cultural exchange with foreign countries, the 2024 "Happy Chinese New Year" has organized nearly 500 performances in more than 100 countries and regions around the world with diverse forms and rich contents, and held the "Global Lantern Lighting Activity" in nearly 20 countries. In this Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon, all over the world are sharing the joyful and festive atmosphere of the Chinese Spring Festival and experiencing the charm of traditional Chinese culture and the achievements of social development.
On January 25th, the Budapest launching ceremony of the "Joyful Spring Festival" was held at the Chinese Dragon Year Lantern Exhibition Park in the Budapest Zoo. The passionate Hungarian folk dance "Kalotaszeg" and the elegant Chinese dance "Qingpingdiao" were performed on the same stage, and the chorus of Chinese and Hungarian performers "Spring Breeze Kissed the Water" pushed the friendly atmosphere to a climax, and also sent the guests sincere wishes for the Chinese New Year. Chinese Ambassador in Hungary Gong Tao said in his speech that the Budapest launching ceremony of the "Joyful Spring Festival" will also be the prelude to activities celebrating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Hungary. The Hungarian Minister of Culture and Innovation, Mr. Csák János, said in his speech that the people of Hungary and China respect each other's traditions and customs, and share a common desire for peace and strive for it.
The Year of the Dragon Chinese New Year Concert "The Music of Spring" was staged in Vientiane, the capital of Laos on January 29th, which also marked the official launch of the "Happy Chinese New Year" Chinese Culture Month in Laos. In the afternoon, the Wuxi Folk Orchestra of Jiangsu Province of China gave a wonderful folk music performance for the Lao people. Laos Deputy Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Vann Sai said that the Spring Festival is an important festival for the Chinese people and overseas Chinese around the world, the colorful activities are similar to the Laotian New Year's customs of the Water Festival.
Russian "Happy Spring Festival" Chinese New Year Ethnic Concert was held on January 30 in Moscow International Concert Hall. Performers from the China Coal Mining Troupe played "Ancient Songs from Ancient Books", allowing the audience to appreciate the unique charm of Chinese traditional arts in music. The concert program included both solo performances of instruments such as Ruan Guitar and Pipa, as well as plucked and percussion repertoire, and performances of sheng and percussion, and three-string and guzheng ensemble. Each of these programs had its own characteristics and won warm applause from the audience. Zhang Hanhui, Chinese Ambassador in Russia, said in his speech that China and Russia, as cultural powers, will be able to further enhance mutual understanding and promote people-to-people communication through extensive and in-depth humanistic exchanges, laying a more solid foundation of public opinion for the all-round strategic collaboration between the two countries. Maresev, deputy minister of culture of Russia, said that Russia and China will usher in the Year of Culture this year and next year. Russian actors are always warmly welcomed in China, and the Russian people will always welcome actors from friendly China.
On January 30th, the Chinese Cultural Center in Bangkok welcomed the "2024 Happy Chinese New Year Traditional New Year Paintings Exhibition". Nearly one hundred Chinese traditional engraved New Year paintings, with their bright colors and exaggerated shapes, presented various characters from ancient Chinese mythology and demonstrated the simple thoughts, emotions and good wishes of the Chinese people. More than a hundred guests and Chinese culture enthusiasts enjoyed the traditional Chinese New Year paintings, listened to Chinese folk music, watched the tea ceremony, and prayed for Spring Festival couplets and lucky charms to wish for good luck in the Year of the Dragon.
On February 3, a spectacular dragon dance officially opened the 2024 "Happy Chinese New Year" celebration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The event covered a variety of art forms, including woodblock prints, good luck lanterns, calligraphy, paintings, poetry appreciation, jazz performances, and burlesque performances, and attracted a large number of local people. They carried freshly made lanterns, wore headdresses made of colored paper, and some wore traditional Chinese costumes such as cheongsams and Hanfu, forming a marvelous cultural fusion with the museum's exhibits of different cultures. In New York, celebrating Chinese New Year is no longer just a tradition for Chinese and Asians in general; New York State 2024 has included Chinese New Year as a legal holiday in the state's public schools. Heidi Holder, Head of Education at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, said, "People from all over the world gather in New York to celebrate Chinese New Year with others, no matter where they come from."
The "Joyful Spring Festival - Sharing Shandong" Chinese New Year Celebration Concert was held on the evening of January 31st in the Town Hall of Berlin, Germany. Artists from the Ethnic Orchestra of Shandong Opera and Dance Drama Theater presented a rich and wonderful audio-visual feast for the guests with Chinese traditional instruments. In his speech, Chinese Ambassador in Germany Wu Bing expressed his hope that China and Germany will maintain and strengthen their ties to promote the happiness of the Chinese and German people and the peaceful development of the world.
The "Joyful Spring Festival - Xinjiang is a Good Place" large-scale performance was successfully staged on January 31 in Doha, Qatar. The performance demonstrated Xinjiang's colorful regional cultural characteristics and the vivid scene of exchanges and integration among various ethnic groups through dance, vocal music, epic chanting and demonstration of intangible cultural heritage, and was warmly welcomed by local people from all walks of life.