Xiamen decorated with lanterns, horse statues for upcoming Spring Festival

Xiamen City in east China's Fujian Province is decorating its roads, parks and transportation hubs to create a festive and joyous atmosphere for the upcoming Spring Festival.

This year's Spring Festival, or the traditional Chinese New Year, which falls on Feb 17, marks the beginning of the Year of the Horse in Chinese culture. It is one of the most important holidays in China, celebrated with family reunions and wishes for good luck in the upcoming year.

In Xiamen's port district of Haicang, 52,000 Kongming lanterns, traditional red lanterns and candied hawthorn-shaped lanterns have been added to the streets, and various horse-themed lantern sets and landscapes have also been placed in parks, intersections and other locations.

"The red lanterns in every park and street have already created a festive atmosphere for the New Year," said Liao Linghua, a local resident.

In Siming District on the city's main island, various lanterns and floral landscapes connect key urban nodes such as parks and train stations. At the south gate of the famous Zhongshan Park, a large carp lantern paired with a cute horse figure attracts eyeballs of citizens and tourists; at the north square of Xiamen Railway Station, a galloping horse-shaped lantern is sending auspicious blessings for the Year of the Horse to travelers.

"It feels good, very nice and cute. Kids would be very happy to see them," said a resident.

"The overall atmosphere in the city is great, and the large red lanterns hanging along the streets are all very beautiful. 'Horse arrives, success follows' is a very auspicious wish that we all have for the Year of the Horse," said another resident.

Xiamen decorated with lanterns, horse statues for upcoming Spring Festival

Global food commodity prices climbed for a second consecutive month in March, driven mainly by higher energy costs linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in report released on Friday.

The FAO Food Price Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of globally traded food commodities, averaged 128.5 points in March, up 2.4 percent from February and 1.0 percent above its level a year ago.

According to the report, the FAO Vegetable Oil Index and Sugar Price Index showed the largest increases, up 5.1 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively.

The FAO Cereal Price Index increased by 1.5 percent from the previous month, driven primarily by higher world wheat prices, which rose 4.3 percent.

The FAO Meat Price Index rose by 1.0 percent from the previous month, and the FAO All-Rice Price Index declined by 3.0 percent in March, according to the report.

FAO stated that rising energy and fertilizer prices have been driving up agricultural input costs.

If the conflict stretches beyond 40 days, farmers will have to choose to farm the same with fewer inputs, plant less, or switch to less intensive fertilizer crops, according to FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero.

These choices will hit future yields and shape food supply and commodity prices for the rest of this year and beyond, Torero said.

Global food prices rise for 2nd consecutive month in March amid Middle East conflict: FAO