As the Chinese Spring Festival of the Dragon Year approaches, the historical urban area of Qingdao is entering the prime time of preparing for the imminent Chinese New Year.

On the century-old Zhongshan Road, the unique dragon-shaped lantern seems to ride the clouds and mount the mist on streets and lanes. The tour of Jieli for the Spring Festival from February 10 to March 3, with Zhongshan Road as the axis, will launch “strolling around fairs”, “watching performance lanterns”, “tasting good wine and delicious food”, “tourism photography for blessing” in themed neighborhoods including Zhongshan Road, Haishishanmeng Square, Taiping Road, Pichaiyuan and Taixingli. Cultural performances of all forms, the Dunhuang digital art exhibition and the exhibition of ancient and modern Chinese arts will make their appearance, and activities well received among the youth, including urban tourism photography, electronic music neighborhoods and hot pot banquets, will be staged in turns.

The Dabao Island Cultural Leisure Neighborhood has embraced the festive atmosphere in advance. Haibo Road, Yizhou Road and Weixian Road are decorated with lanterns and colored hangings. The Spring Festival-themed fair on Dabao Island, consisting of more than 200 vendors, has seen a grand opening. The area for delicious food is filled with cooking oil-smoke and sweet smell, while the area for spring festival purchases and the area for cultural and creative handicrafts are packed with a dazzling array of small spring festival-themed commodities. The new year fair will last until February 25, in which the annually held Raddish-Sweet Dumplings for Lantern Festival-Sugar Ball Fair will open, and the raddish carving competition and the Qingdao Lantern Making Contest will be held. “Strolling in the daytime and sightseeing at night” is another highlight of activities in the neighborhood. In the daytime, citizens and tourists can stroll about the new year fair, watch traditional artistic performances including Laixi Puppet Show, juggling and walking on stilts, enjoy artistic performances and join magic shows. At night, the light and shadow show in Guangxingli and the lantern fair in the neighborhood will bring the public distinctive visual enjoyment.  (Yu Ruixin)

Citizens and tourists watch lion dance in the Dabao Island Cultural Leisure Neighborhood.