Chinese New Year 2024 of the Wood Dragon and expectations

Published:January 29,2024

By Staff writer

In Chinese culture, each year is associated with a zodiac sign and this year, 2024,
is the year of the Wood Dragon and is expected to begin on February 10, 2024
and end on January 28 th , 2025 (Chinese New Year’s Eve). There are 12 Chinese
Zodiac signs derived from a list of animals and follow a 12- year cycle, with each
year associated with one of these animals.
The Year of the Dragon, specifically the Wood Dragon year, is expected to usher in
authority, prosperity, and good fortune. It is believed that the Wood Dragon year,
combined with the nourishing Wood element, brings evolution, improvement,
and abundance, making it the perfect time for rejuvenated beginnings and setting
the foundation for long-term success.
The Dragon is positioned as the fifth in the sequence, and its year occurs every
12 years. Again, each year is associated with specific element, such as; water,

wood, gold (metal), fire, and earth. When a Zodiac reappears after 12 years,
the element affiliated also changes. For example, the year 2012 was the
previous year of the Dragon but was associated with water and therefore, it
was the year of Water Dragon, whereas this year is the year of the Wood
Dragon.
In Chinese culture, the dragons are considered very powerful creatures with
extraordinary talent and intelligence. In ancient China, the emperors often
regarded themselves as the Dragon, the Son of Heaven. The Chinese rulers had
the title of the ‘Son of Heaven’ as he was considered sacred and had power over
everything under the sky. This title started with the Zhou dynasty and was based
on the idea that the ruler had a mandate from heaven.
It is believed that people who are born in the year of the Dragon are gifted with
innate courage, tenacity, and intelligence; Dragons are usually enthusiastic and
confident. They are not afraid of challenges, and willing to take risks. They
strive to break away from traditional norms and pave the way for a brighter
future.
Many people across China are now taking their New Year holidays making it a
high season for travelling. China’s railways estimate to handle 480 million
passengers during this travel season, with an average of 12 million trips daily. The
country’s civil aviation sector also said it plans to transport 2 million people.
According to china’s transport ministry, an estimated 9 billion passenger trips are
likely during the 2024 travel period. “Of the total, 7.2 billion trips, or about 80
percent, will be made by self-driving, while 1.8 billion trips will occur via railways,
highways, waterways, and civil aviation,” the ministry said.

The Year of the Dragon comes in at the right time for innovation and growth.
Quoting the chairman and CEO of Lenovo Yuanqing Yang, he said that, “the year
2024 will be a year of AI full implementation, unleashing creativity, productivity
and bringing new wave of changes and opportunities to AI PC.” China continues to
position itself as an Artificial Intelligence (AI) superpower, with massive

investments in AI research, which has brought about have resulted in significant
AI innovations.
During China’s Central Economic Work Conference held in 2023, led by President
Xi Jinping, the main focus was on how China can attain technological self-reliance,
accelerated opening-up, and strengthen macroeconomic regulation. The
conference was a step in the right direction towards China’s rejuvenation and
setting the foundation for long-term success.
In February 2021, President Xi Jinping announced that extreme poverty in China
had been eradicated, in what he called a miracle. He announced that, “through
the combined efforts of the whole Party and the entire nation, China has secured
a complete victory in its fight against poverty in this important year.” It is in the
same year that the CPC accomplished the First Centenary Goal for China – building
a moderately prosperous society in all respects, or xiaokang in the Chinese
language.
The Second Centenary Goal, set by the CPC at its 18th National Congress and
further defined by the CPC at its 19th National Congress in October 2017, has the
ambition, “to develop China into a great modern socialist country that is
prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful by
the middle of the 21st century.”
In 2017, the Chinese President Xi Jinping, said that, “following the realization of
a moderately prosperous society, the whole Party and people of various ethnic
groups across the country would be motivated to build a modernized socialist
country by 2049, the centenary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
The year 2024 of the Wood Dragon, sets ground for continued transformational
leadership of the CPC under the guidance of President Xi Jinping, who is also
general secretary of the Party’s Central Committee and chairman.
More hard work, innovation and further opening up will bay all means drive
China towards realizing the Chinese Dream.