Celebrating Spring Festival

February 4， Hong Kong： A monkey decoration is on display at a shopping mall. Spring Festival， also known as Chinese Lunar New Year， has been the most important festival in China for an estimated 4，000 years. Celebrations traditionally stretch from the 23rd of the last lunar month to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month. In 2016， the first day of Spring Festival fell on February 8， marking the start of the Year of the Monkey. For eons， Spring Festival has been a season for family bonding， spreading good cheer， sharing， caring and giving. To be with family during the most important festival of the year， Chinese people travel long distances to return home – roughly 2.9 billion trips were made during the holiday season this year.

Cutthroat Art Admissions

February 19， Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province： Students take the entrance examination for the Hangzhoubased China Academy of Art （CAA）. Founded in 1928 as Chinas first art academy to offer comprehensive academic programs， CAA is now one of the most influential art institutions in China. This year， a total of 57，000 candidates hoping for admission to CAA took the exam in one of five Chinese cities： Hangzhou， Shenzhen， Chengdu， Shenyang， and Zhengzhou， and only an estimated 2.5 percent will get it.

In recent years， China has witnessed an increase in applications for art schools as well as art majors. With increasing numbers of applicants vying for the same number of seats， competition has become fierce. Take Shandong Province as an example. Nearly 110，000 candidates took first-round entrance exams for art schools and majors in early February， fighting hard to become one of the lucky one-in-four students to survive into the second round.

Plum Blossoms

February 19， Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province： Aerial view of the Xixi National Wetland Park covered with plum blossoms. Seen as a symbol of winter and a harbinger of spring， plum blossoms symbolize perseverance， hope， and the purity of Chinese culture. Because they blossom in winter， the flower is one of the “Three Friends of Winter” along with pine and bamboo.

With the temperature rise in late February， plum blossoms blanketed the city of Hangzhou. The blooming season is expected to last through March. In China， there are over 300 recorded cultivars of plum blossom， which can be broadly divided by color into white， pink， red， purple， and light green types or by the type of branches. Varieties famed for their ornamental value are especially popular in major cities.

Big Big Buddha

February 20， Aba County， Sichuan Province： Nearly 10，000 lamas， Buddhists and tourists attend an annual ritual of worshiping a giant Buddha embroidery spread across a hillside at Gomang Monastery. The annual spectacle， known as Buddha Unveiling Festival or the Basking of Buddha， is part of the Great Prayer Festival， a magnet for Tibetan Buddhism pilgrims in China. The Great Prayer Festival， the most important festival on the Tibetan Buddhist calendar， was established in 1409 by Tsongkhapa， founder of the Geluk tradition， and is observed nowadays in Gansu， Qinghai， Sichuan， and Yunnan provinces as well as the Tibet Autonomous Region. Every year during this time， thousands of Tibetan Buddhism pilgrims visit monasteries to pray for a good year and for peace and harmony in their lives.