The Spring Festival, also known as Chinese New Year, is just around the corner. This year, it will fall on January 29, marking the first day of the first lunisolar month and ushering in the Year of the Snake in the Chinese zodiac, part of the 12-year cycle of animal signs.
As China's most important traditional festival, it is a time for family reunions and festive celebrations. In December 2024, UNESCO added the Spring Festival, social practices of the Chinese people in celebration of traditional New Year to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The traditional Chinese calendar blends both lunar and solar cycles. While the length of the year roughly corresponds to Earth's orbit around the sun, it is divided into 12 lunisolar months, with an extra month added during leap years.
In Beijing, an ongoing exhibition showcases intangible cultural heritage practices related to the festival.
(Text and photos by Wei Yao)