Chinese New Year

Visitors look at festive installations for Chinese New Year in Shanghai, China, on 2 February 2022. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

In China, no break on Chinese New Year’s Eve next year

Employees in China have little annual leave to begin with — what happens when the Chinese authorities announce that Chinese New Year’s Eve will not be a holiday in 2024?
People walk in a public park in Beijing, China, on 15 April 2023. (Wang Zhao/AFP)

Chinese youth cut ties with relatives even as family size gets smaller

On top of the multiple stressors that Chinese youths struggle with in their daily lives — from the bleak economic outlook to poor employment prospects and the financial blow caused by the pandemic — annoying relatives are getting the boot. Lianhe Zaobao China Desk looks into why young people are no longer tolerating toxic familial relationships and if this is an inevitable trend of modernisation.
A man and a child walk past a display for Full River Red in a cinema in Fuzhou, 25 January 2023. (CNS)

Chinese films hit it big during CNY, but is it enough to save the industry?

The Chinese film industry has released several blockbusters over the Chinese New Year period, and crowds have also returned to cinemas. However, the off-screen drama seems to be more interesting than the movies themselves, with claims of various forms of dishonest or misleading figures for ticket sales, complete with lawsuits and competition for audiences.
Pedestrains on a street in Shanghai, China, 30 January 2023. (Qilai Shen/Bloomberg)

Uneven recovery ahead for China’s economy

Optimism over China's economic outlook may be rising, but its recovery is uneven, with different industries experiencing different levels of rebound. Furthermore, can Chinese authorities ensure a better business environment and greater transparency, as well as policy consistency and guarantee of the rule of law, to attract back businesses and investors?
People visit a traditional Spring Festival flower market which reopened after closure due to the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, on 20 January 2023. (AFP)

Is China finally seeing the end of the pandemic?

Despite worries that Covid infections would rise sharply after the Chinese New Year period, statistics show that earlier fears were unfounded. The sudden change has netizens speculating if “solar storms” helped to quell the virus. Can China really expect clearer skies ahead?
People visit a traditional Spring Festival flower market in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China, on 20 January 2023. (AFP)

China and the world renew economic ties post-pandemic

As economic activities pick up in China after the country lifted its strict Covid-19 control measures, foreign businesses are raring to return to the world’s second-largest economy. However, they remain hesitant due to the long time away and geopolitical considerations. Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong finds out if China can easily rebuild its economic ties with foreign businesses and the outside world.
The black-and-white lanterns at COCOPARK in Shenzhen. In Chinese culture, black and white are seen as inauspicious colours. (Internet)

White lanterns and ugly rabbits: The no-nos of CNY decorations

A mall in Shenzhen came under fire for putting up white lanterns with black text as part of its Chinese New Year decorations, while an “ugly” rabbit-shaped light decoration was removed from another mall in Chongqing. Academic Zhang Tiankan muses on tradition and innovation, and the evolution of traditional decorations.
A woman rests on a tour bus outside the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, on 23 January 2023. (Wang Zhao/AFP)

[Photo story] A cold start to the Year of the Rabbit

Since China entered winter late last year, temperatures have plunged to record lows in various Chinese cities entering the Year of the Rabbit. ThinkChina brings you on a pictorial journey into these snowclad places in China, and how the Chinese people are spending the festivities.
People at the market in Zhangjiajie, 8 January 2023.

How a rural village of elderly residents is coping with Covid-19 during CNY

With Chinese New Year around the corner, the wave of human movement during the period could trigger a fresh wave of Covid-19 in China, not least in the rural areas with its villages and less than readily available healthcare. Zaobao correspondent Wong Siew Fong recounts her visit to a rural area in Zhangjiajie to find out if the rural villages are prepared to handle a surge in Covid-19 cases.