Spring Festival celebrations across China

Cities and towns around China are holding vibrant celebrations for the Spring Festival that begins on Tuesday.

In Xiangyang of central China's Hubei Province, thousands of lanterns are lit up in the night sky above the ancient cit, with their glow reflecting on the Hanjiang River as crowds cheer below.

In Xihe, an old town of east China's Anhui Province with over 600 years of history, residents parade every night these days in the shape of a 110-meter-long dragon made of 37 sets of lanterns.

In Dazhou of southwest China's Sichuan Province, burning dragon celebrations, an intangible cultural heritage of the city combining dragon dance and fireworks, are held on ancient streets. This year's celebrations also include drones shaped like dragons soaring overhead and molten iron sparked against the dark sky.

Jining of east China's Shandong Province has staged a grand Spring Festival show featuring traditional art performances and robots performing ancient drums.

In Huating of northwest China's Gansu Province, villages are staging colorful celebrations including lion dances, dragon dances, traditional drama and other folk art activities.

And in Kashgar of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, a massive nine-meter spring couplet on the city gate greet visitors to the ancient city, its characters celebrating the enduring spirit of the historic city on the Silk Road.

This years' Spring Festival falls on Feb 17, ushering in the Year of the Horse, the seventh animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.

Spring Festival celebrations across China

China's foreign exchange reserves stood at 3.3421 trillion U.S. dollars at the end of March 2026, down 85.7 billion dollars, or 2.5 percent, from the end of February, official data showed on Tuesday.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange noted that in March, the U.S. dollar index rose, while prices of major global financial assets declined, influenced by the global macroeconomic environment, monetary policies of major economies, and market expectations.

The combined effects of exchange rate conversion and changes in asset prices led to a decrease in China's foreign exchange reserves during the month, the administration said.

China's economy registered steady and improving performance during the period, with new and higher-quality development momentum. Its steady performance provided solid support for keeping the scale of the country's foreign exchange reserves basically stable, according to the administration.

China's foreign exchange reserves decline in March