This Spring Festival, East China's Zhejiang — a province where ancient heritage meets bold innovation — is the place to be.

Celebrating the Year of the Snake, Zhejiang offers a diverse slate of festivities where visitors can step into the rhythm of local life and make the holiday their own.

Get ready for a Spring Festival celebration that's anything but ordinary.

Tasting traditions

Students experience Chinese New Year traditions at China Jiliang University. [Photo/Hangzhou Daily]

On Jan 23, students from over 10 countries at China Jiliang University gathered to celebrate Chinese New Year.

The students embraced the spirit of Spring Festival through activities such as writing Spring Festival couplets, painting pandas, and making dumplings.

The event brought together more than 30 students from countries including Morocco, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe. Guided by their peers and teachers, they used traditional Chinese brushes to craft heartfelt wishes for the new year in ink.

Honoring heritage

A traditional ceremony is held in Shaoxing in order to bring good fortune. [Photo/Tide News]

On Jan 22, Sunduan subdistrict in Shaoxing held a traditional "Blessing" ceremony, reviving a year-end celebration steeped in Shaoxing's rich heritage.

Having originated in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), this year's festivities not only maintained the ceremony's solemnity but also featured the enchanting hometown opera and the spirited lion dance.

The event also introduced fresh activities like interactive photo spots, blessing parades, and spring village runs.

Throughout Spring Festival, Sunduan subdistrict has carefully curated a variety of traditional crafts, including rice dumpling making and rice cake pounding. These activities will continue until Feb 4.

Lighting lanterns

A lantern festival opens to the public at Xixi National Wetland Park. [Photo/IC]

Xixi National Wetland Park in Hangzhou has come alive with a lantern festival, which launched on Jan 23.

Through June, the park will be illuminated nightly from 5:00 pm to 11:30 pm, creating an interplay of light and shadow.

Thousands of custom lanterns are scattered across the wetlands, accompanied by larger installations that display Chinese aesthetics.

Adding to the festive atmosphere, a series of traditional cultural performances during Spring Festival will infuse the lantern show with intangible cultural heritage.

Feasting fair

A 202.5-meter-long banquet stretches along the Nantang River. [Photo/Tide News]

On Jan 24, a 202.5-meter-long banquet stretched along the Nantang River in Haishu district, Ningbo, offering hundreds of classic Ningbo dishes to locals and tourists.

Running parallel to the feast, a 202.5-meter cultural market buzzed with popularity, featuring festive goods, artisan crafts, and cultural heritage items.

Visitors joined in hands-on experiences like writing Spring Festival couplets, celebrating Chinese New Year with shared wishes for good fortune in the Year of the Snake.

Finding flowers

A Spring Festival-themed flower show opens at Qianwang Temple. [Photo/Hangzhou Daily]

A Spring Festival-themed flower show is open at Qianwang Temple in Hangzhou's iconic West Lake scenic area from Jan 23 to Feb 12.

The show weaves Chinese love tales into its garden designs, featuring outdoor floral installations, greenhouse displays, festive arrangements, and intricate floral artworks, creating a poetic and romantic springtime experience.

Beyond the flowers, the show highlights traditional Chinese culture with live performances of lion dances, stilt walking, and face-changing opera.