Greater Bay Area residents gather in Shenzhen for innovative Spring Festival celebrations

The southern Chinese city of Shenzhen has launched a vibrant series of events that blend traditional culture with modern technology, drawing large crowds of people in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to welcome the upcoming Chinese New Year here.

The Chinese New Year, also the Spring Festival, is China's most important traditional holiday, symbolizing reunion, joy, and new beginnings. The 2025 Chinese New Year will fall on Wednesday, marking the beginning of a Year of the Snake.

In the Qianhai area of Shenzhen, nearly 100 young people from the Greater Bay Area on Thursday came together to make and enjoy traditional delicacies including dumplings, also known as jiaozi, and tangyuan, a kind of round and sweet dumpling made of glutinous rice flour, symbolizing harmony and unity.

Hong Kong resident surnamed Ho expressed her enthusiasm for the event.

"This activity is wonderful! With the New Year approaching, it really brings out the festive spirit and helps strengthen our relationships," she said.

In the Luohu district of Shenzhen, innovative activities such as robotic calligraphy and drones displaying Spring Festival couplets, or Chunlian in Chinese, have attracted numerous visitors.

The city's flower markets are also bustling with GBA tourists, with a diverse array of flowers and decorations for sale.

"I'd like to buy some flowers carrying auspicious meanings to gift to my friends," said a local resident.

Currently, Shenzhen is hosting various Spring Festival events across its 11 districts, with around 4,000 flower market stalls in business.

The city has also rolled out nearly 600 promotional activities and numerous exciting travel products, drawing many residents from Hong Kong and Macao to celebrate the New Year in Shenzhen.

"In order to promote youth exchange and integration among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, we have invited young people who are having the New Year in Shenzhen to come together joyfully and immerse themselves in the charm of traditional Chinese culture," said Li You, an official with the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the Communist Youth League of China.

"This offers more young people from Hong Kong and Macao a glimpse into the development of our motherland through the Greater Bay Area, encouraging us to take part in national development," said Teng Chenghoi, a Hong Kong visitor.

Greater Bay Area residents gather in Shenzhen for innovative Spring Festival celebrations

China is willing to strengthen communication, enhance trust, eliminate interference, and deepen cooperation with Canada to bring bilateral relations forward on a steady and sound track in solid strides under the new circumstances, said Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday.

Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand in Beijing on the day.

Referring to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's visit to China, the first by a Canadian prime minister in eight years, Wang said the trip marks a milestone in bilateral ties and signals a turning point in the relationship.

The leaders of the two countries will hold meetings and talks, which are expected to open up new prospects for bilateral relations, said Wang.

The world today is undergoing profound and complex changes, and the impact of China-Canada relations transcends the bilateral scope, Wang noted.

Wang said that China and Canada have different social systems, stemming from different historical and cultural heritage, and based on the choices of their respective people.

He urged both sides to view each other in a rational and amicable manner with an inclusive mindset, handle issues on the basis of mutual respect, focus on the agenda of cooperation, and send positive messages so as to foster optimism, inject greater confidence into the development of bilateral relations, and jointly build a new type of strategic partnership between China and Canada.

Anand said the new Canadian government attaches great importance to relations with China. She also added that Prime Minister Carney looks forward to engaging in in-depth exchanges with Chinese leaders during the visit to set the course for the development of bilateral relations, resume dialogue in various fields, pursue more mutually beneficial outcomes, enhance coordination and cooperation in multilateral affairs, and further advance the strategic partnership between the two countries.

China ready to work for steady, sound ties with Canada: FM