Spectacular light shows and dazzling lanterns are illuminating cities across China to ring in the Spring Festival, or the Chinese New Year, which falls on February 17 this year.
The stunning nighttime views are captivating the holiday crowds in popular tourist destinations such as Beijing, Cangzhou City in Hebei, and Xinzhou City in Shanxi.
Across the Chinese capital, all urban landscape lighting facilities are on display, the facade of major landmarks are glowing with lights, many streets are adorned with decorative lanterns, and outdoor electronic display screens are streaming greetings for the Spring Festival.
For this year's Spring Festival celebrations, the Cangzhou Garden Expo Park is displaying 16 large-scale and elaborate lantern sets, hosting various folk art performances that highlight traditional Chinese cultural heritage, and offering many other immersive experiences to the visitors.
In the Xinzhou Ancient City, a 45-day, horse-themed lantern show is showcasing the city's long history, natural scenery, and rich culture to locals and tourists alike.
The 2026 Spring Festival, the most important holiday in China, ushers in the Year of the Horse, the seventh animal in the 12-year Chinese zodiac cycle.
This year's official holiday lasts from Feb 15 to 23.
Lights, lanterns illuminate cities across China to ring in Spring Festival
Lights, lanterns illuminate cities across China to ring in Spring Festival
Hailing the African Union (AU) as a flagship for multilateralism, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday that the absence of permanent African seats in the UN Security Council is indefensible.
Addressing the 39th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU, which opened Saturday at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, the UN chief said "In a world filled with division and mistrust, the African Union is a flagship for multilateralism. My gratitude runs deep. I will carry with me always the unwavering, decisive support of the African Group in the UN on issue after issue, initiative after initiative, in the shared struggle for justice and equality."
Guterres recalled the cooperation between the UN and the AU over the years.
"Over the last decade, our cooperation has reached new heights. Joint frameworks on peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights. Collaboration during COVID-19. Important new partnerships. And the landmark adoption of Security Council Resolution 2719, creating a pathway for predictable funding for AU-led peace support operations," he said.
"The absence of permanent African seats in the Security Council is indefensible. This is 2026, not 1946. Whatever decisions about Africa and the world are on the table, Africa must be at the table," he stressed.
The two-day AU summit, which brings together leaders from AU members, is held under the theme "Assuring Sustainable Water Availability and Safe Sanitation Systems to Achieve the Goals of Agenda 2063."
Absence of permanent African seats in Security Council indefensible: UN chief
