"It is the first time that I have spent the Lunar New Year with my family in China. My children, who are very interested in this Chinese ancient festival, have learnt a lot from this excellent exhibition," said Sergio M. Miranda-da-Cruz, representative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.

The exhibition is composed of a demonstration zone and a DIY (do it yourself) zone.

In the demonstration zone, visitors can learn the historical evolution and rich folk customs of the Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, from the detailed introduction with beautiful pictures. Visitors can feel the happy atmosphere of celebration through paintings, video recordings, recreation of scenes and multimedia touch screens.

"I spent the Spring Festival in Singapore about 20 years ago, and I watched some celebrations of the Chinese Spring Festival in the United States. This introduction gave me a different impression of the Spring Festival, which helped me a lot in understanding Chinese culture. I will take my children to the temple fair held in the Chaoyang Park," said Ronny Lindstrom, deputy representative of the United Nations Population Fund.

In the DIY zone, many excited visitors participated in activities, such as New Year paintings, Spring Festival couplets, paper-cuts and Chinese macramé knots.

"I knew something about the Chinese Spring Festival in my country because many Chinese live there, but I never expected to spend the Spring Festival in Beijing. The customs shown here are a little different from what I knew before," said Om Prakash Goundar, a third secretary of the Fiji Islands embassy.

He said he had bought typical Chinese clothes for his wife last week, and he would try some of the activities he learnt at the exhibition during the holiday.

"In my opinion, the Spring Festival is just like a huge party for all Chinese, and everyone will enjoy themselves together with their families during the holiday. That is what I appreciate very much. I hope it is maintained," said Miranda-da-Cruz.

The Chinese Lunar New Year falls on February 1 this year. It is traditionally the most important holiday in China, when people celebrate their achievements at the end of the year, pray for a bumper harvest, peace and happiness in the coming year.

The celebration of the Spring Festival in China, which can be traced back 5,000 years, has become an important part of the Chinese civilization with a rich tradition of folk customs.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2003)