General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that Chinese modernization is inseparable from the inheritance and promotion of excellent traditional culture. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has visited cultural sites multiple times during his inspection tours before the Spring Festival, observing inheritance and discussing protection. He has also engaged with people of various ethnic groups, experiencing folk customs and the festive atmosphere with them, thereby promoting the inheritance, development, and revitalization of excellent Chinese traditional culture. Our series "Deep Concerns" today (January 31) features "Allowing Traditional Culture to Radiate with Modern Splendor." During this Spring Festival holiday, Tianjin's Ancient Culture Street was bustling with people, where citizens and tourists sampled authentic Tianjin snacks and enjoyed folk performances. Ancient Culture Street, on the banks of the Haihe River, is known as the "Hometown of Tianjin." On the eve of the 2024 Spring Festival, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the area, walking along the street and entering characteristic shops. The General Secretary emphasized that Chinese modernization is inseparable from the inheritance and promotion of excellent traditional culture, and that historical and cultural districts should be well-protected and utilized to shine brightly in the construction of modern metropolises. From intangible cultural heritage skills to historical districts, Tianjin has kept the General Secretary's instructions in mind. For over a year, Ancient Culture Street has continuously optimized its business formats, attracting and gathering thirty to forty long-standing brands and intangible cultural heritage inheritor shops, continuously creating new cultural experience landmarks and new cultural consumption scenarios. During the joyous and peaceful Chinese New Year, lanterns are lit across the country, and folk activities are rich and colorful. Entering the Simola Wa Village in Tengchong, Yunnan, villagers beat wooden drums and danced to welcome visitors from all directions. "Simola" means "happy place" in the Wa language, and the village has a history of over 500 years. On the eve of the 2020 Spring Festival, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited Simola Wa Village in Sanchunzhongzhai to learn about rural revitalization and the construction of ethnic minority characteristic villages. In recent years, Simola Wa Village has leveraged its excellent ecological environment and unique ethnic culture to accelerate the integrated development of culture and tourism, guiding all villagers to participate in rural tourism and develop distinctive businesses such as Wa painting and Wa costumes. They have also created "cultural and creative"精品 such as ethnic umbrellas, wooden drums, and wood carvings. In 2024, Simola Wa Village received 430,000 tourists, achieving tourism revenue of 6.4611 million yuan. The per capita disposable income of villagers reached over 24,000 yuan, doubling in five years. Each skill and art continues the cultural heritage, and every brick and tile guards historical imprints. In Pingyao Ancient City, Shanxi, during the Spring Festival, a strong festive atmosphere permeated the air. With a history of over 2,800 years, Pingyao Ancient City is a World Cultural Heritage site and one of the best-preserved ancient cities in China. On the eve of the 2022 Spring Festival, General Secretary Xi Jinping ascended the city wall to overlook the ancient city's panorama. He pointed out that historical and cultural heritage must be fully protected, and the development of tourism, unique businesses, and ancient city protection should be coordinated to safeguard the precious wealth left to us by our predecessors. In response to the General Secretary's requirements, Pingyao formulated 4 major categories and 47 specific tasks, including increasing protection efforts, actively inheriting culture, innovating industrial development, and deepening the integration of culture and tourism. They have successively built an intangible cultural heritage museum displaying 137 skills, restored 72 ancient streets and alleys, and renovated 506 courtyards. Before this Spring Festival, the infrastructure renovation project of Pingyao Ancient City was also fully completed, and problems such as water, electricity, and gas, which once affected the lives of the ancient city's residents, were thoroughly resolved. The千年古城, constantly renewed. In the new year, Shanxi will continue to promote the construction of a database of traditional cultural resources to achieve the permanent preservation and widespread dissemination of cultural heritage; build and renovate a batch of museums to centrally display historical heritage such as Jin merchant culture and ancient architecture, continuously improving the level of cultural relic protection and utilization and cultural heritage protection and inheritance.
During the Spring Festival holiday, various regions held diverse cultural activities. People visited temple fairs, admired lanterns, enjoyed beautiful scenery, felt the strong festive atmosphere, and happily enjoyed life. For the first Spring Festival after successful heritage inscription, cultural and folk activities in various places were colorful and diverse. In Huzhou, Zhejiang, intangible cultural heritage folk programs and traditional fire art performances were staged one after another, bringing a series of visual feasts to tourists and citizens. In Tianshui, Gansu, representative projects of intangible cultural heritage such as Qinzhounian杆舞 and Wushan旋鼓舞 were performed at the New Year's market. In Langzhong Ancient City, Sichuan, various intangible cultural heritage exhibitions and folk performances immersed people, allowing them to fully experience the charm of traditional culture. On the fourth day of the Spring Festival holiday, the tourism market remained bustling. At Fanjing Mountain, a World Natural Heritage site in Guizhou, people not only admired the magnificent natural landscape but also experienced colorful folk customs. During the Spring Festival, Mount Jiuhua in Anhui welcomed snowfall, attracting many tourists to climb the mountains and enjoy the snowy scenery. According to statistics, as of today (January 31), the scenic area has received over 200,000 tourists. This year's CCTV Spring Festival Gala also boosted cultural and tourism consumption across the country. In Chongqing, thanks to the Spring Festival Gala's promotion, the Dazu Rock Carvings scenic area, a World Cultural Heritage site, received about 40,000 tourists on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year, an increase of nearly 20% year-on-year. The main stage of the Spring Festival Gala sub-venue set up at Danzishi Square attracted many citizens and tourists for photos. In front of the Potala Palace Square in Tibet, the Lhasa sub-venue stage also continued to attract citizens and tourists for visits. It is understood that the Spring Festival Gala stage decorations at Potala Palace Square will remain until February 5, and the number of Potala Palace visitors has increased by 21% compared to the same period last year. Brilliant fireworks and colorful lanterns lit up the night sky during the festival. In Yancheng, Jiangsu, nearly 30 themed giant lanterns and iron flower performances formed this year's Spring Festival garden lantern show, drawing tourists to stop and admire. In Dalian, Liaoning, the Spring Festival lantern show integrated elements such as lantern group scenery, intangible cultural heritage performances, and ancient style markets, attracting a large number of citizens and tourists to experience it. In Longyan, Fujian, exciting intangible cultural heritage activities such as Gutian You Dalong and Bizhou You Denglong were lively staged, allowing citizens and tourists to celebrate the Spring Festival in an atmosphere of unique folk culture. In Shantou, Guangdong, the New Year's Eve fireworks show was brilliantly spectacular last night. Fireworks, music, and 5,000 drones combined to create a festive and magnificent display.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, more and more people are going out to experience new things. In our Spring Festival street interviews, "How are you spending this Spring Festival?", we continue to visit various parts of the country to see new ways people are enjoying their holiday.
Data from the 2025 Comprehensive Transportation Spring Festival Travel Rush Task Force shows that today (January 31), the total cross-regional passenger flow is expected to reach 316.83 million person-times. Since the start of the Spring Festival travel rush, the single-day passenger flow is expected to exceed 300 million person-times for the first time. National railways are expected to send 11.8 million passengers today, with over 500 additional passenger trains operating. Demand for railway tourism is strong, with China Railway Chengdu Bureau and Xi'an Bureau operating special tourist trains; China Railway Urumqi Bureau has added 24 temporary trains to Kashgar, a popular tourist destination. During the Spring Festival holiday, the Beijing-Zhangjiakou High-speed Railway operates 9 pairs of high-speed trains daily between Beijing and Chongli, providing convenient travel for passengers heading to Chongli for skiing. Highway network traffic today has further increased compared to yesterday, with highway passenger flow expected to exceed 300 million person-times. Self-driving for family visits and tourism remains the main mode of travel. Under the influence of a new round of rain and snow, traffic in some areas of Shaanxi, Gansu, and other provinces has been affected. Waterway travel is expected to reach 1.5 million person-times today, with strong tourism demand. Civil aviation passenger volume is expected to reach 2.35 million person-times today, with an estimated 18,200 flights.
During the Spring Festival travel rush, over 10 million passengers travel by train every day, and some of them need to transfer, with the shortest transfer time often being just a few minutes. How can we ensure that transfers are not missed? And how are people helped when they encounter difficulties? A group of railway passenger service staff are working diligently. Today (January 31), "New Year's Greetings from the Grassroots" reporters will take you closer to these people who make travel warmer. A few days ago, at Jinan West Station, reporters encountered a connecting train from Rongcheng that was delayed due to heavy snow. After hanging up the phone, Chen Lu immediately organized her colleagues at the customer service center to go down to Platform 2, and an emergency transfer immediately began. The two minutes gained allowed 18 passengers to successfully transfer. Behind this was Chen Lu and her colleagues' hurried movements, as well as the strong support of the big data system. On the computer in the customer service center, a series of data on passenger travel, passenger transport management, and station-train interaction provided a head start for transfer services. Jinan West Station is an important hub on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, connecting to over 300 high-speed railway stations across the country. Among the nearly 100,000 daily passenger flows, about 40,000 transfer passengers travel from here to Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, and passengers who miss their trains will find the customer service center immediately. Helping passengers find trains was not originally the job of the customer service center, but with the help of this big data system, they can clearly see the number of transferring passengers and train schedules, thus having the energy to help more passengers in urgent need. Chen Lu interacts with over 1,000 passengers every day, and she has set a requirement for herself: no matter how anxious the other party is, she must always keep a smile. Chen Lu's state also affects her colleagues around her, and young passenger service staff pay special attention to passengers who get off at the wrong station or go to the wrong ticket gate. This passenger, who was going to Tai'an, got off early at Jinan West Station and happened to meet passenger service staff Kong Zixuan, who had just seen off a train. A few minutes later, a nearby train was found for him. This Spring Festival, Chen Lu and her colleagues still cannot rest. Years of working in passenger service have made them accustomed to celebrating the New Year at the station.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced that since the transition period for consolidating and expanding the achievements of poverty alleviation and effectively connecting them with rural revitalization, through the joint efforts of all parties, the bottom line of preventing large-scale return to poverty has been firmly maintained. Currently, the dynamic zeroing of out-of-school students in the compulsory education stage from impoverished households and families under monitoring for preventing return to poverty has been achieved. The participation rate of impoverished people and rural low-income people in basic medical insurance remains stable at over 99%. The renovation of dilapidated rural houses and earthquake-resistant renovation of rural housing are progressing steadily, and the dynamic zeroing of rural drinking water safety issues is maintained, with the popularization rate of tap water in rural areas reaching 94%. The achievements in "three guarantees" (compulsory education, basic medical care, and housing security) and drinking water safety are continuously consolidated and improved. All 832 poverty-stricken counties have cultivated leading industries, with a total output value exceeding 1.7 trillion yuan. Nearly three-quarters of the impoverished population have established interest linkage mechanisms with new agricultural business entities. The number of impoverished laborers working has remained stable at over 30 million for four consecutive years.
The 9th Asian Winter Games are about to open in Harbin. As the main base for registered media reporters and broadcasters, the Asian Winter Games Main Media Center officially started operations today (January 31). The Asian Winter Games Main Media Center is divided into two parts: the Main Press Center and the International Broadcast Center, with a total area of approximately 20,000 square meters. It has 11 major functional areas, including a comprehensive service area, public media workstations, press conference halls, and public interview areas, providing various comprehensive services for media reporters from various countries. In addition, the "Athletes' Village" for the ice events of the Harbin Asian Winter Games officially opened today, and currently, over 100 people from 12 countries and regions have successfully moved in. During the games, over 900 athletes and accompanying officials from 24 countries and regions will be accommodated.
In 2024, the total output value of China's forestry industry exceeded 10 trillion yuan. The National Forestry and Grassland Administration announced that in 2024, China continued to promote the reform of the collective forest rights system and the high-quality development of the forestry industry. The total output value of the national forestry industry reached 10.17 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.6%; national timber output was 137 million cubic meters, an increase of 8% over the previous year. In 2024, China's rural living environment continued to improve. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs announced that in 2024, China continued to promote the improvement of rural living environments. The popularization rate of sanitary toilets in rural areas reached about 75%, the proportion of administrative villages with collected and processed domestic waste remained stable at over 90%, and the control rate of domestic sewage treatment exceeded 45%. China launched the 2025 coastal port and waterway chart surveying work. The Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Transport announced that China recently launched the 2025 coastal port and waterway chart surveying work. The focus will be on 66 key port areas, including Tianjin Port, Shanghai Port, Guangzhou Port, and Shenzhen Port, achieving full coverage surveying of key waters through increased surveying frequency and improved accuracy. "High-end Interview" Tonight Broadcasts Exclusive Interview with Herman Van Rompuy, First President of the European Council and Former Prime Minister of Belgium. Tonight (January 31), CCTV News Channel's "High-end Interview" program will broadcast an exclusive interview with Herman Van Rompuy, the first President of the European Council and former Prime Minister of Belgium. Van Rompuy stated that he admires the Chinese cultural concept of "harmony without uniformity" and called on countries worldwide to strengthen communication, enhance understanding, and jointly seek ways of development. The program will also be simultaneously launched on new media platforms such as CCTV News, CCTV Video, and CCTV.com.
In recent days, Chinese embassies in various countries have held Spring Festival receptions and other colorful events to celebrate the Year of the Snake with people from all walks of life and local residents. The Chinese Embassy in Cuba held a 2025 Spring Festival reception in Havana, where guests extended sincere blessings to the Chinese government and people, expressing their willingness to work with China to build a China-Cuba community with a shared future. The Chinese Embassy also co-hosted the "Five Blessings Welcoming Spring" Chinese Porcelain Exhibition with the National Museum of Decorative Arts of Cuba, showcasing the profound heritage and rich connotations of excellent Chinese traditional culture to local people. At the Spring Festival reception held by the Chinese Embassy in Greece, Chinese art troupes presented wonderful performances of traditional music, dance, martial arts, and more. Guests praised China's development achievements, expressed sincere wishes for the Chinese New Year, and looked forward to a bright future for bilateral relations. The Chinese Embassy in Malaysia held a Spring Festival reception, featuring splendid performances such as folk music, martial arts, and qipao shows. Guests jointly wished prosperity and peace for China and Malaysia, and continuous development and new heights for China-Malaysia relations and China-ASEAN relations. At the "Warm Welcome to Spring, Celebrating Chinese New Year Together" event held by the Chinese Embassy in Argentina, Chinese and foreign participants performed songs, martial arts, lion dances, and other programs, expressing their best wishes for the Year of the Snake. Chinese embassies in Egypt, Indonesia, India, Norway, Poland, and other countries also held Spring Festival receptions, where people from all walks of life extended New Year greetings, congratulated China on its achievements in economic and social development, and looked forward to promoting bilateral relations and practical cooperation in various fields with China.
Diverse and vibrant activities continue to be held in many places around the world, as people from various countries celebrate the Lunar New Year and convey their shared hopes for a bright future. Berlin City Hall in Germany recently hosted a "Happy Chinese New Year" gala. The lion dance welcome, Chinese acrobatics and folk music performances, and intangible cultural heritage displays filled the "Red City Hall" with a strong festive atmosphere of the Chinese Spring Festival that evening. As night fell, Edinburgh Castle, a landmark in the Scottish region of the UK, was lit up in red to celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Snake. Canada's tourist attraction, Niagara Falls, and Toronto's landmark, the CN Tower, also lit up in Chinese red to celebrate the Lunar New Year. In Toronto City Hall Square, the first Spring Festival fireworks celebration kicked off lively. The fireworks display, traditional opera, and ethnic dance performances, among other rich and colorful activities, attracted a large number of citizens to share the festive joy.
Palestinian Armed Organizations and Israeli Side Release Third Batch of Detainees According to the Gaza ceasefire agreement, Palestinian armed organizations and Israel on the 30th separately released a third batch of detainees. Palestinian armed organizations released 3 Israelis and 5 Thais. Israel released 110 detained Palestinians. The Israeli government stated that it is preparing for the second phase of negotiations for the Gaza ceasefire agreement. No Survivors in US Plane Crash; Black Boxes Found US President Trump stated at a press conference on the 30th that there were no survivors in the plane and military helicopter collision accident that occurred in Washington on the evening of the 29th. The plane was carrying 64 people and the helicopter was carrying 3 people. The Chinese Embassy in the United States stated that two Chinese citizens were among the deceased, and the embassy has requested the US side to provide assistance for the victims' families. The US National Transportation Safety Board stated on the 30th that both black boxes of the plane have been found. Reagan National Airport, near the accident site, resumed operations on the same day. The cause of the accident is still under investigation. According to US media reports, preliminary reports from the US Federal Aviation Administration indicate that the airport's air traffic control was understaffed on the day of the accident. Eurozone Economy Zero Growth Last Quarter; European Central Bank Cuts Interest Rates Preliminary data released by Eurostat on the 30th showed that, after seasonal adjustments, the Eurozone economy experienced zero growth quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of last year. Major European economies Germany and France performed poorly in the fourth quarter of last year, declining by 0.2% and 0.1% quarter-on-quarter, respectively. On the same day, the European Central Bank decided to cut its three key interest rates by 25 basis points each. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde stated on the same day that the Eurozone economy is expected to "remain weak in the short term."
This Spring Festival, across China, there's an atmosphere of joy and vibrant colors. To conclude our program, let's feel the strong festive spirit across the country.
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