Chinese youth craft their own Spring Festival flavor with creative spending

LANZHOU (Feb 27): Many young Chinese took the lead in reshaping the Spring Festival — the nation’s most important holiday — blending tradition with personal expression through creative spending.

Instead of spending hours in the kitchen on the eve of the Chinese New Year, Liu Hao, a 27-year-old resident in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China’s Gansu Province, ordered pre-made dishes online, featuring delicacies from other parts of the country.

“All we had to do was heat and plate them. It was delicious, looked great for photos, and my parents didn’t have to be tied to the kitchen all day,” Liu said, praising the relaxed “light cooking” style.

The Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, fell on Feb 17 this year. According to a recent report by the Douyin e-commerce platform, the transaction volume for products related to the New Year’s Eve dinner surged by 92 per cent year-on-year from Jan 16 to 29.

On the lifestyle social media platform rednote, the hashtag “I am the Spring Festival organiser” had garnered over 2.42 billion views.

More young people are becoming the “masters of ceremonies” for their families’ festivities, moving beyond mere participation to actively shaping the celebrations.

Chen Qi, a civil servant based in Lanzhou, took over her family’s holiday shopping.

“I used to follow my parents to busy markets to stockpile festive foods. Now, I prioritise smart and tech-driven items that bring joy and relaxation,” said Chen, 33, listing a smart floor cleaner for herself and a neck massager for her parents as examples of her “electronic New Year goods”.

She also purchased a set of creative red couplets, adorned with cartoonish characters and horse-related puns, offering a fresh take on the classic ritual in the Year of the Horse.

Pop culture collectibles also emerged as a prominent part of the new festive landscape. Li Xuerui, a university student who celebrated her zodiac year, prepared a unique “lucky money” gift for her younger siblings back home in Lanzhou — a set of limited-edition blind boxes featuring the Year of the Horse.

“Gathering around the table to unveil the blind boxes on New Year’s Eve created a new kind of ritual for our reunion, a fun twist on the traditional red envelope,” Li said.

She also shopped for cultural and creative souvenirs at the Gansu Provincial Museum, selecting items themed around the iconic Bronze Horse, a popular token among young people to share with friends.

During this year’s local “two sessions”, regions including Hubei, Jiangxi and Chongqing incorporated terms such as “emotional value” and “emotional economy” into their government work reports to encourage emotion-driven consumption.

Experts suggested that through these choices — from pre-made festive dishes to couplets with puns and collectible gifts — young people were crafting a Spring Festival experience that was more relaxed, personalized, and emotionally resonant for themselves. – Xinhua