2023 'Happy Chinese New Year' global festivity launched in Zhengzhou

A global launch ceremony for the 2023 "Happy Chinese New Year" celebration was held in Zhengzhou city of Central China's Henan province on the evening of January 14 or the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month, the day of Little New Year ("小年" in Chinese) and the day that officially marks the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year.

The event is sponsored by China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and co-hosted by China International Culture Associationand Henan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.

A Resonant Ode. [Photo/dahe.cn]

After the launch ceremony, the "Harmony and Shared Future" Concert was staged. Featuring four chapters of "heaven, earth, human and harmony", the concert invited China National Traditional Orchestra, Suzhou Symphony Orchestra and International youth choir, as well as well-known musicians such as Chen Xieyang, Guo Feng, Lang Lang, Wu Bixia and Zhao Cong to join in the show.

Chinese cultural elements such as oracle bone inscriptions, tai chi and Henan opera are presented through the concert.

Since its first debut in 2001, the "Happy Chinese New Year" program has spread the joy to more than 100 countries and regions around the world.

Tai Chi Capriccio. [Photo/dahe.cn]

Henan is the cradle of the Chinese nation and civilization and birthplace of the Yellow Emperor. Throughout the 5000-year history of the Chinese civilization, Henan has been China's political, economic and cultural center for over 3000 years. Of the top eight ancient capitals in China, four are located in Henan.

Over the past decade, Henan has been focusing on building a strong cultural province and dedicating to telling the stories of the Yellow River to the outside world through the integration of culture, tourism and creative industries under the general theme of "Henan, the Cradleof China". So far, Henan has 14 items listed among China's 100 Major Archaeological Discoveries in Last Century and 50 selected into the annual list of China's Top 10 New Archaeological Discoveries since 1990, both ranking first in China. Besides, the Grand Canal (Henan section), the Silk Road (Henan section), the 24 Solar Terms originating in Henan and tai chi have been listed as world heritages by UNESCO. The added value of Henan's cultural and related industries jumped from 45.437 billion yuan in 2011 to 240.526 billion yuan in 2021, accounting for 4.1 percent of GDP. The cultural industry has become a new driver of Henan's economic growth. (Yang Jiaxin/reporter)