CGTN: Spending Time with People: Xi Jinping's Chinese New Year Tradition

Peking (ots/PRNewswire) – In a village greenhouse in the northern Chinese municipality of Tianjin, vegetables and fruits wait to be harvested and transported. Some were packaged for delivery to be served on people’s dinner tables.

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

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

“I take special care of the grassroots officials and citizens as we usher in the Chinese New Year,” Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, once said.

It has been a tradition for years for Xi to visit ordinary people, particularly disadvantaged groups, ahead of the Spring Festival, the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar. The festival, which falls on February 10th this year, is traditionally celebrated with the family.

The people Xi always thinks about

In his 2024 New Year message a month ago, Xi listed the issues that remain close to his heart, including places affected by floods, typhoons, earthquakes or other natural disasters.

When he visited flood-affected people in Diliubu village on Thursday, Xi once again expressed his concern for these people.

“The CPC Central Committee, party committees and governments at all levels always think about the safety and well-being of everyone,” he told villagers.

It is not the first time that the Chinese president has chosen a disaster-stricken location to launch his annual inspection before the Spring Festival. In January 2022, he braved the snow to visit people in a small village called Fengnanyuan in northern China’s Shanxi Province, which was badly affected by the fall floods.

Continuing traditional Chinese culture

Amid a multitude of ancient pavilions and winding alleys, Tianjin Ancient Culture Street, home to many renowned brands, is all about the lively preparations for the start of the Year of the Dragon.

The iconic ancient-style gate, decorated with Chinese dragon and phoenix motifs, now shines in a vibrant “China red” color, captivating visitors from across the country.

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

Xi said that China’s modernization would not be possible without the heritage and promotion of China’s fine traditional culture.

Calling Tianjin a city of great character and charm, he called for efforts to protect and make good use of its historical and cultural districts so that they can shine as a modern metropolis is built.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2024-02-02/Spending-time-with-the-people-Xi-Jinping-s-Chinese-New-Year-tradition-1qS8w1LAwQU/p.html

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