Crew of China's aircraft carrier Liaoning spend Spring Festival aboard

The soldiers aboard China's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, are spending the ongoing Spring Festival on board while fulfilling their war-preparedness mission during the once-a-year holiday season, balancing tradition with their duty of safeguarding national security.

The Spring Festival marking the start of the Chinese New Year is China's grandest traditional festival when people across the country return to their hometowns for Chinese New Year celebrations and family reunion. This year's eight-day 2025 Spring Festival holiday started from Jan 28. 

Although the living quarters have been decorated with Spring Festival ornaments and homemade couplets amid a strong festive atmosphere, the crew's focus on combat readiness has never wavered.

Traditional activities like making dumplings and watching the Spring Festival Gala are an integral part of their celebrations.

Hot dumplings are delivered to various posts, bringing warmth and a sense of togetherness to those on duty.

Additionally, team-building activities like tug-of-war and ring toss are bringing fun to the crew, strengthening unity and determination.

Some crew members also wrote down their New Year's wishes, expressing hopes for both personal growth and the continued success of the carrier's missions.

"I wish my family members good health, and hope to build up my professional capacity so that I can emerge as a leading serviceman as early as possible. I also wish for continuous progress and breakthroughs in our aircraft carrier development," said Liu Jialin, a crew member.

Despite the festive mood, the crew have remained vigilant, with emergency teams carrying out regular drills, including defense operations and anti-terrorism training.

"Guarding the reunions of the countless families back at home is part of my responsibility. This is my first Spring Festival aboard the aircraft carrier, and it's both exciting and new. I feel extremely proud to be working here to ensure the safety of our people back at home, alongside my comrades from across the country," said Pan Junpeng, another soldier.

Crew of China's aircraft carrier Liaoning spend Spring Festival aboard

China and the European Union share significant potential for cooperation across many fields and should view each other as friends advancing hand in hand for common progress, Bulgarian President Iliana Iotova said in an exclusive interview with China Media Group (CMG).

In the interview that aired on Friday, the president emphasized that China and the EU are partners, not adversaries.

"We are very pleased to see the growing level of exchanges between EU institutions and China recently. Having served in the European Parliament for many years, I know very well that there is a dedicated delegation within the Parliament responsible for maintaining contacts with China. Over the years, dialogues and exchanges between Europe and China have never been halted. Of course, we hope that these exchanges will become even more solid and sustainable. Both sides need to meet more often, communicate more, and engage in deeper discussions. I would like to emphasize once again that there should be no sense of competition or jealousy between us. We should not see each other as rivals, but as partners moving forward together," said Iotova.

She highlighted that Bulgaria plays a key role in China-EU cooperation as an important participant with a unique geographical position.

"Bulgaria has been a member of the European Union since 2007. This allows us to serve as a bridge between China and the EU as a whole in developing their relationship. In addition, as we often say, geographically, Bulgaria is at a 'crossroads.' Bulgaria can serve as an open gateway to other neighboring countries. We can jointly carry out cooperation projects. That is why, in several meetings, I have emphasized one clear point: in the future, there will be many more areas where we can work together," the president said.

China, EU must join hands for common progress: Bulgarian president