Ring the bell to pray for good luck: On New Year’s Eve, local officials in many places went to landmarks and scenic spots to usher in the new year with residents
On the eve of the new year, multiple city officials attended local landmark attractions to usher in the new year with the ceremony of ringing the bell to pray for good fortune.
According to the WeChat official account “Tianjin Release”, on the evening of December 31, 2024, the “Gǔlóu Jīnshēng” new year countdown event for the 2025 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integrated cross-year countdown was held in Tianjin. Zhang Gong, deputy secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and mayor of Tianjin, attended the event.
Under the night sky, with bright lights and bustling crowds at the Gǔlóu (Drum Tower), more than 1,500 citizens and tourists enjoyed the scenic view and awaited the arrival of the new year. As midnight approached, Zhang Gong, along with Shen Lei, deputy secretary of the Tianjin Municipal Party Committee and minister of Propaganda, and vice governors Xie Yuan and Zhang Ling, initiated the countdown to the new year. Citizens and tourists across the city gathered in various landmarks to listen to the sound of the new year’s bell.
Meanwhile, in Beijing’s Shougang Park and in Chengding Ancient City in Hebei Province, countdown events were synchronized with the same theme, and people from these three regions counted down together online to usher in a new chapter in 2025. According to “Tianjin Release,” this is the first time that Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei have organized a cross-year countdown event together.
In the Yangtze River Delta region, several city leaders in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces also participated in local distinctive bell-ringing activities to pray for good fortune for the new year.
According to Hangzhou News Client, on December 31, 2024 evening, Hangzhou’s mayor Yao Gaoyuan participated in the “Blessings 2025” new year’s greeting event with citizen representatives such as moral models of Zhejiang Province, “most beautiful Hangzhou people,” and outstanding athletes. Zhu Jianming, member of Hangzhou Municipal Standing Committee in charge of united front work, Huang Haifeng, member of Hangzhou Municipal Standing Committee responsible for publicity, and Chen Weiqiang, vice mayor of Hangzhou, also attended the event.
The blessing activity is one of the most influential events with the highest participation enthusiasm among Hangzhou citizens as they bid farewell to the old year and usher in the new one. Themed with “dancing against the waves and heading towards common prosperity,” the “Blessings 2025” event was held by Hangzhou’s civilization office. The event fully showcased Hangzhou’s achievements as a pioneer city in comprehensively deepening reforms and as a city full of happiness. The “Blessings 2025” cross-year activity adopted an interactive method of “online + offline,” with live broadcasts on television and new media platforms, allowing more citizens to participate in real-time interactive activities and welcome the new year together.
At midnight on January 1, 2025, Yao Gaoyuan and Yuezhen, the head of Hangzhou’s Buddhist association, along with citizen representatives, rang the auspicious bell at Jingci Temple to usher in a new year full of hope. The melodious sound of the bell echoed at the turn of day and night as it carried the expectations of all citizens into a new year full of hope.
According to WeChat official account “Suzhou Release,” last night’s 46th Hanshan Temple New Year Bell-listening event was held as scheduled. Numerous Suzhou citizens and guests from far away gathered at Fengqiao Bridge and Puming Tower to pray for good fortune in the new year with melodious bell sounds. Liu Xiaotao, member of the Standing Committee of Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee and secretary of Suzhou Municipal Party Committee attended the event, while Wu Qingwen, deputy secretary of Suzhou Municipal Party Committee delivered a New Year message.
As one of China’s longest-running and most influential cross-year activities since reform and opening up, Hanshan Temple’s New Year Bell-listening event has become a prominent cultural tourism card for Suzhou and an important window for Suzhou to promote its excellent traditional Chinese culture worldwide.
The event was organized by Suzhou Municipal Government and hosted by Suzhou Culture Radio and Television Administration Bureau and Suzhou Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau. With themes such as “Han Mountain’s Bell Rings Sharing Good Fortune,” based on previous experiences and practices, it focused on themes such as harmony culture, Jiangnan charm elegance, New Year blessings. Through various methods such as optimizing activity routes, strengthening bell sharing sounds creating a “Soo” atmosphere enhancing online dissemination methods were used to create a happy and auspicious atmosphere for celebrating the New Year with cultural elements that were characteristic of Suzhou.
At the event site, festive decorations were lit up creating a lively atmosphere filled with joy
