BEIJING: Since the arrival of the Year of the Snake, the festive spirit has been in full swing from the Chinese mainland to the Taiwan region, with both sides of the Taiwan Straits celebrating the most important festival on the Chinese calendar with traditional feasts, decorations, and family reunions.
During the Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, shared customs and cultural heritage continue to bind the two sides, highlighting the profound connection that transcends the straits.
One of the most anticipated and beloved celebrations across the Taiwan Straits is the annual joint fireworks display by Xiamen and Kinmen on the first day of the Chinese New Year, a tradition carried forward since 1987.
Starting at 8 p.m. on January 29, nearly 50,000 fireworks were launched simultaneously from the beaches of Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian Province, and Kinmen, a small island just off the mainland. The 30-minute display was divided into several themed sections on both sides, featuring elements that highlighted the Spring Festival and cross-straits ties.
Hung Tzu-i, a native of Taiwan’s Chiayi County who now lives in Xiamen, arrived hours earlier with her daughter to secure a vantage point for the spectacle.
“The sight of fireworks from both sides lighting up the night sky in perfect sync is breathtaking and deeply moving,” she said. “The emotions brought by the joint fireworks display across the straits are hard to put into words. I hope this tradition can continue every year,” said a Taiwan resident who watched the display in Kinmen. “People on both sides of the Straits are, after all, one family, and we should cooperate and develop together for a better future,” he added.
A commentary from Taiwan’s United Daily News highlighted the significance of the annual joint fireworks display between Xiamen and Kinmen. The dazzling fireworks embody the blessings and expectations of the people on both sides, symbolizing the deep kinship that unites compatriots across the Straits, it said.
The Chinese New Year is a time for family reunions, and nothing embodies this tradition more than the reunion dinner on Chinese New Year’s Eve. On both sides of the Taiwan Straits, the meal symbolizes the unbreakable cultural and emotional bond that has persisted through the ages. –The Daily Mail-CGTN news exchange item
