February saw the unveiling of a grand set of bright red Spring Festival couplets on the time-honoured Xiangmen Ancient City Wall in Suzhou, an eastern Chinese city. The vibrant new couplets perfectly complement the weathered stone bricks, exuding a strong festive atmosphere for the Chinese New Year.

Spring Festival couplets are a cherished form of traditional Chinese art that fuses literature and calligraphy. They feature two parallel poetic lines with a balanced structure, usually written on red paper during the Chinese New Year to convey auspicious wishes. The top line of this grand set depicts the arrival of spring and blooming plum blossoms with the region’s unique charm, while the bottom line honours Chinese craftsmanship in bringing blessings to the world, blending local style with a global vision.

The event creatively integrates city wall, poetry, calligraphy, and Spring Festival culture, turning the ancient gate into a vivid carrier of China’s fine traditional culture. Launched in 2018, Suzhou’s couplet-unveiling ceremony has become a key festive event held annually for the Lunar New Year and is now a much-loved cultural tradition among local residents.