Spending time with the people: Xi Jinping’s Chinese New Year tradition

Published: February 14, 2024

In a village greenhouse in north China’s Tianjin Municipality, vegetables and fruits are waiting to be picked and transported. Some have been packaged for delivery to be served on people’s dining tables.

Diliubu Village, known as the main origin of vegetables for Beijing and Tianjin, will supply agricultural products to the megacities during the upcoming Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year.

With the village being the first stop of his two-day inspection tour in Tianjin, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday visited the villagers affected by severe floods last summer, and learned of the recovery of local agricultural production.

“I especially care about grassroots officials and members of the public as we ring in the Chinese New Year,” Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, once said.

For years, Xi has had a tradition of visiting ordinary people, especially disadvantaged groups, ahead of the Spring Festival, the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. Falling on February 10 this year, the festival is a time traditionally spent in the company of family.

The people always on Xi’s mind

When delivering his 2024 New Year message one month ago, Xi listed the issues that remain at the forefront of his mind, including places hit by floods, typhoons, earthquakes or other natural disasters.

When he came to visit those affected by the floods in Diliubu Village on Thursday, Xi once again made clear his concern for such group of people.

“The CPC Central Committee and Party committees and governments at all levels are always thinking of everyone’s safety and warmth,” he told the villagers.

This is not the first time the Chinese president singled out a disaster-hit place to kick off his annual inspection before the Spring Festival. In January 2022, he braved the snow to visit people in a small village called Fengnanyuan in north China’s Shanxi Province that had been hit hard by autumn floods.

Carrying forward traditional Chinese culture

Nestled amid a multitude of ancient-style pavilions and winding alleyways, Tianjin Ancient Culture Street, which houses many renowned brands, is immersed in the lively preparations for the start of the Year of the Dragon.

Its iconic ancient-style gateway, embellished with the Chinese dragon and phoenix motifs, now glows with a vibrant hue of “Chinese red,” captivating visitors from all over the country.

When visiting the street on Thursday, Xi stressed the importance of carrying forward the traditional Chinese culture, a message he also underscored during his last visit to Tianjin in 2019.

Chinese modernization would not be possible without the inheritance and promotion of China’s fine traditional culture, Xi said.

Calling Tianjin a city with great characteristics and charm, he urged efforts to protect and make good use of its historical and cultural blocks to make them shine in the building of a modern metropolis.

Source: CGTN