Lanterns, traditions and everyday rituals signal the approach of Spring Festival across the province.

As the coming Spring Festival ushers in the Year of the Horse, equestrian-themed items are a highlight of the Spring Festival goods markets in Shanxi. Li Zhaomin/For China Daily

As this year's Spring Festival, which will fall on Tuesday, approaches, the festive atmosphere can be felt everywhere in the North China province of Shanxi.

Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional festival in China. It was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2024, recognizing its rich traditional and cultural significance.

In Shanxi, as well as in the rest of China, Spring Festival is a grand showcase of various forms of intangible cultural heritage. Rehearsals of traditional performances and production of ICH-featured items are important parts of the preparations for the festival.

In Hengqu village in Jiancaoping district of Taiyuan, local craftspeople are busy making colorfully decorated lanterns known as huadeng.

Huadeng is among the most popular decorative items during Spring Festival throughout the country. Locals in Hengqu said that the village has a huadeng production history dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and is still a hub of production in North China nowadays.

Gao Lashou, 63, is a recognized inheritor and a master craftsman in making Hengqu huadeng. He has been involved in this trade for more than 30 years. He said that in recent years, he has been particularly concerned with the development of the local huadeng industry and hopes to make it an important source of income for residents.

Five-year-old Yang Yuxiang performs stilt animal-walking during a temple fire show in the village of Yangcheng in Jishan county. LI LUJIAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

"To make it an industry, we need to integrate traditional techniques with modern technologies and aesthetics," Gao said. "It is the combination of old craftsmen and open-minded young people that has earned Hengqu huadeng nationwide recognition and increasing market share."

He added that as the huadeng industry becomes a stable source of revenue, more people are joining the sector, ensuring the centuries-old cultural heritage can be passed down to future generations.

Decorations

In Shanxi, Spring Festival celebrations traditionally begin with hanging decorative lanterns on residential gates and along streets.

On Feb 5, the provincial capital of Taiyuan began lighting roadside lanterns, bringing the sense of celebration to neighborhoods throughout the city.

This custom has deep historical roots in Shanxi's commercial past, developed by the Jinshang merchants — also known as Shanxi merchants. It is said that these travelers dominated commercial activity in North China for about 500 years during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. Many of these successful merchants started out as small vendors. They made their fortune by selling goods like tea, silk and porcelain in regions as far away as Russia.

It had long been a tradition for merchants to return home for family reunions during Chinese New Year, regardless of how far they traveled. Upon returning, the first thing they did was to hang lanterns on the gates of their residences, signaling to relatives, friends and neighbors that they had arrived home safely.

For hundreds of years, lanterns have symbolized a love of home for Shanxi residents, who believed the lanterns could light the way for those returning home, according to local cultural researchers.

Cultural researchers attend a livestream hosted by the Shanxi Daily newspaper, introducing Spring Festival traditions to overseas audience. HAO HONG/FOR CHINA DAILY

In addition to Taiyuan, there are lantern shows everywhere in Shanxi for the Spring Festival celebration.

In the northern Shanxi city of Datong, for instance, a grand lantern show is held, with lanterns outlining the ancient city walls and colored lights featuring the images of local attractions, including the Yungang Grottoes and the Hanging Temple.

Year of the Horse

This year's Spring Festival will usher in the Year of the Horse, therefore the creation of horse-themed ICH items is a part of the celebrations.

In the city of Yuncheng, Lin Tao, a nationally recognized inheritor of the ancient technique for making chengni ink slabs, recently designed Year-of-Horse editions of the product.

Chengni ink slabs are one of China's four most renowned ink slab varieties and form part of the "four treasures of study", alongside the writing brush, ink stick and paper, cherished by calligraphy and Chinese painting enthusiasts.

Chengni ink slabs also feature elegant shapes and delicate engravings, making them valuable pieces of art.

Lin Tao and his father, Lin Yongmao, played a key role in reviving this ancient technique for making clay-fired items, which had been lost during the Qing Dynasty. After intensive research and repeated experimentation, they restored the technique in 1991. The father and son were recognized as Shanxi's folk art masters by the provincial government in 2006.

At the recent launch ceremony of the Year-of-Horse editions, Lin Tao said that since the revival of the craft, hundreds of chengni ink slab artworks have entered the market, offering calligraphy and painting enthusiasts a wider range of choices.

Taiyuan residents line up in front of a store to buy vinegar to prepare Laba garlic. FAN WENJING/FOR CHINA DAILY

Stilt walking

Shehuo — or temple fire — performances, are a popular form of Spring Festival celebration in Shanxi. The shows usually feature dragon dance, lion dance, local operas, drum playing, stilt walking and other folk arts.

In a public square in the village of Yangcheng in Jishan county, a rehearsal of shehuo was held on Feb 5. Among the performers, three stilt walkers — grandfather Yang Shengquan, son Yang Qi and 5-year-old grandson Yang Yuxiang — drew particular attention.

They dressed in traditional costumes and props, creating the impression of riding auspicious animals at a leisurely pace. This type of performance is called stilt animal-walking, a popular art form in Jishan.

"I'm very happy to see the trio," said a local villager. "This is how the art of stilt animal-walking is passed down."

Many artists like Yang Shengquan are dedicated to ensuring the tradition continues in Jishan.

On Feb 2, a special campaign promoting stilt animal-walking was launched at the Jishan Vocational Secondary School. This monthlong event involves dozens of experienced performers who are teaching basic skills and performance techniques to hundreds of students.

Niu Jiatao, a student at the school, said that he was amazed by the rich cultural connotation of the art form. "I feel obliged to inherit this art and contribute to its revitalization," he said.

As Spring Festival marks the largest annual population movement in China, driven by family reunions and leisure travels, Shanxi's various transportation sectors are gearing up for the Spring Festival travel rush that can last for more than a month.

It is reported that this year's Spring Festival travel rush started on Feb 2 and will last until March 13, with billions of trips expected nationwide and tens of millions involving Shanxi.

Consequently, the railway transport sector in Shanxi has carried out measures to make travel easier and more comfortable.

More automatic check-in gates are open in Taiyuan South Station and other railway stations in the province to increase efficiency. Companion animal travel service is available in five railway stations in Shanxi.

In Shanxi, buying Spring Festival goods is another important part of the celebration.

The Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally begin on the Laba Festival, the eighth day of the 12th lunar month, which fell on Jan 26 this year.

Lin Tao (left) and his colleague making a Year-of-Horse edition of chengni ink slab. GAO XINSHENG/FOR CHINA DAILY

Laba garlic

On that day, families prepare Laba garlic, with cloves preserved in vinegar and to be eaten on New Year's Day.

The preparation requires high-quality vinegar, and Shanxi is widely known as the home of some of China's best vinegar.

Thus, it was no surprise that in the early morning of Jan 26, people were lining up in front of the outlets of famous local vinegar brands. When the vendors poured the vinegar into the customers' containers, the whole area was filled with a sour-sweet aroma.

In addition to in-store purchases, online sales of vinegar were also booming.

A staff member at a vinegar store in Taiyuan's Yingze district said that during this period, online sales of vinegar increased by more than 10 percent compared with the previous Laba Festival.

As Chinese New Year approaches, sales of various Spring Festival goods continue to grow. To cash in on this opportunity, promotional campaigns have been held in Shanxi.

For instance, a provincewide online sales promotion called "Happy Buy Across Shanxi" was launched on Jan 28. It is scheduled to run through this year's Lantern Festival on March 3.

A shopping carnival was launched in the southeastern Shanxi city of Changzhi, with more than 1,000 varieties of products — mostly locally produced agricultural goods — on sale.

Leisure travels are a new trend for people to celebrate Spring Festival. To welcome more tourists, the province recently recommended four tourism routes for people to see local attractions and experience local life and traditions.

These routes cover such famed destinations as Shanxi Museum in Taiyuan; Yuhuang Temple — or Jade Emperor Temple — in Jincheng; the ancient cities of Datong, Shuozhou, Xinzhou and Taiyuan; as well as a number of amusement parks, ski resorts and hot spring resorts throughout the province.

Zhang Qi contributed to this story.