An increasing number of foreign tourists are coming to China to immerse themselves in the holiday's vibrant atmosphere and rich cultural traditions during this year's Spring Festival.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian highlighted that the number of inbound flight bookings for the festive period more than quintupled year-on-year as of Feb 6.
The Spring Festival, also known as the Chinese New Year, falls on the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar and involves a variety of social practices to usher in the new year, pray for good fortune, celebrate family reunions and promote community harmony.
This year, it falls on on Feb 17, ushering in the Year of the Horse, the seventh animal in the Chinese zodiac.
As the most important festival in the Chinese culture, it is drawing an increasing level of international interests and recognition.
"We're here to visit friends and relatives. I am not sure about what we are gonna do but I'm sure there's a lot of eating going on," said a tourist from the U.S.
"To see the Chinese [New] Year in Shanghai, to eat and to see the Chinese market," a Spanish visitor said.
Meanwhile, data from a travel platform showed that over the past month, ticket orders by overseas tourists for intangible cultural heritage events, such as traditional lantern fairs and Peking Opera performances, surged more than sixfold compared to the same period of last year.
Hotel booking records underscored the trend, with nearly one in three guests during the Spring Festival identified as foreign visitors.
"As of Friday morning, Shanghai's immigration authorities had processed 594,000 inbound foreign visitors this year, up 38.5 percent year on year. The top source countries include the Republic of Korea, Japan, Russia, the United States and Thailand," said Shan Chengfei, a border inspection official from Shanghai.
The Spring Festival has been inscribed into the List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by the UNESCO in 2024.
Inbound tourism booms as overseas visitors flock to experience Chinese New Year
The international community on Thursday continued to lash out at Israeli National Security Minister Ben-Gvir for releasing a video which mocks the participants of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
On Thursday local time, the Israeli Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that all foreign activists who had recently participated in the flotilla had been expelled from the country, and that Israel would not tolerate any violations of the maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of members from a Gaza-bound aid flotilla were brought to Israel's Ashdod Port on Wednesday, as Ben-Gvir released the video showing some of them shackled and forced to the ground.
In the video, released by Ben-Gvir on his social media channels, dozens of activists are shown kneeling on the floor, bent forward with their heads down and hands bound behind their backs with zip ties, as the Israeli national anthem is played loudly over speakers.
Organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla said Israeli naval vessels intercepted all ships in the convoy in international waters, about 250 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza. According to the organizers, 428 activists were "kidnapped" by Israel after the interception began on Monday morning.
On Thursday, the British government issued a statement saying that the Britain had summoned the charge d'affaires of the Israeli Embassy that day to express strong denunciation of the video released by Ben-Gvir on Wednesday.
Britain accused the relevant actions of violating the most basic principles of respect for human dignity and demanded that the Israeli government provide an explanation regarding the detention.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani on Thursday said on social media that he had requested the European Union (EU) to impose sanctions on Ben-Gvir.
Tajani said that the Israeli side detained activists in international waters and subjected them to harassment and humiliation, describing such actions as "unacceptable" and "a violation of the most basic human rights."
On the same day, the Polish foreign affairs ministry issued a statement saying that Poland had summoned the charge d'affaires of the Israeli Embassy in Poland, demanding that Israel launch an investigation into the detention and issue an official apology to the detained activists.
Earlier that day, Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski decided to seek a ban on Ben-Gvir's entry into Poland.
On Thursday, Polish Minister of Interior and Administration Marcin Kierwinski also said that he had ordered the initiation of formal procedures to designate Ben-Gvir as a persona non grata.
Additionally, on Thursday, Danilo Della Valle, a member of the European Parliament, said that he had written to European Council President Antonio Costa, calling on the EU to impose sanctions on Ben-Gvir. The letter was co-signed by nearly 30 members of the European Parliament.
Int'l community continues to slam Israel for maltreating Gaza aid flotilla members
