Civilization office offers traditional ways to celebrate
A girl writes the Chinese character symbolizing blessings and good fortune.
Children experience traditional Chinese culture activities.
Shanghai's civilization office is inviting residents to experience the most traditional way of Spring Festival celebration with more than 2,300 activities rolling out across the city through February 24.
These activities include nianhua, or New Year's paintings, appreciation and chunlian (Spring Festival couplets) writing, and people will also receive calligraphy works of Chinese character 福 (fu), symbolizing blessings and good fortune, if they visit centers of civilization offices at communities.
At plenty of community centers in Xuhui District, people are able to attend intangible cultural heritage classes and about 10,000 Spring Festival fudai (lucky bags) will be distributed.
People appreciates nianhua, or New Year's paintings.
In Putuo District, the Wanli subdistrict will set up a number of booths featuring sugar painting and paper-cuts on the Lantern Festival on February 24 and people are also able to guess riddles and create their own versions of calendars to mark the Year of the Dragon.
Children will have a fun Spring Festival with a unique woodcut New Year pictures experience at the Jing'an District Culture Center on February 15, enabling them to get close to the old folk art forms.
At Shanghai Baoshan International Folk Arts Exposition, about 100 woodcut New Year pictures are on display.
The display includes some precious works dating back to the reign of Emperor Qianlong and Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) that were made in Suzhou in neighboring Jiangsu Province. A few nianhua exhibits are making their debut.
A yangjiawu nianhua dating to late the Qing Dynasy in Weifang, Shandong Province, is only 5.5 centimeters high, making it one of the smallest nianhua in the world.
Children show off their paper-cut work.
