Foreign researchers of CAS's Institute of High Energy Physics had their last Chinese class in the Year of the Rooster, on Feb 14, just one day before the Chinese New Year's Eve.

They learned to write Chinese characters with the meaning of happiness and luck at the class.

Celebrating Chinese New Year was a special experience for them, offering an opportunity to practice Chinese and better understand traditional Chinese culture.

Writing Spring Festival scrolls in celebration of the Lunar New Year is a traditional custom in China.

Foreign experts celebrate Chinese New Year in a traditional Chinese way. (IMAGE FROM INSTITUTE OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS, CAS)

Tamer Tolba, supported by the CAS President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI), spent the Spring Festival with her family in China and shared her experience as follows:

Before we came to China, Chinese New Year celebrations meant for my family only the dragon dance in the streets, as it appears in the foreign news. Since we came to China, we have experienced different feelings for this spiritual event. Beijing streets, a few weeks before the New Year starts, become colorful decorated open areas, dominated by red. The whole city turns to a carnival mood. The last week before the New Year, Beijing starts to lose its heavy traffic and you feel that the whole city is just yours. You start to hear the traditional New Year songs wherever you go.

My family greatly enjoyed the celebrations in the famous parks of Beijing, such as Ditan Park, Longtan Park, Chaoyang Park and Tiantan Park. By the end of the holidays, Beijing streets started to gain more and more traffic. By the first working day, you feel that the past few weeks were an experience that you and your family will never forget and you are waiting for the next year to enjoy it once more.

My family and I wish you all a happy Chinese New Year of the Dog! Gong Xi Ni ("congratulations" in English)！

Tamer at Ditan Park with her family (IMAGE FROM INSTITUTE OF HIGH ENERGY PHYSICS, CAS)

Source: Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS