How to celebrate the Spring Festival in the Year of the Dragon? Visiting the ancient city, admiring the lanterns, and watching folk customs are the New Year experiences in my memory. During this important festival exclusively for the Chinese people, a group of young people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan stayed in the mainland (mainland) to experience the beautiful mountains and rivers of the motherland, the enthusiasm and strong atmosphere of their compatriots. Various cultures collide and merge to create a unique New Year flavor.
He Sheng's cat and violin. Photo provided by the interviewee
He Sheng (pseudonym), a Macau student from Xinghai Conservatory of Music, is a representative of the "stay-at-home school". He has been studying in the Mainland for five years, and he stays in Guangzhou every year to celebrate the New Year because of his performances. "I feel like I am already an 'old fritter' spending the Chinese New Year alone in the Mainland. The violin major has a lot of concert performance tasks or activities, and we may not have that much time to go home."
This year, He Sheng is still busy with various performances During the concert. There are two concerts this year, one on New Year’s Day and one on Valentine’s Day. Although there are only two concerts, the preparation before the concert is the most important. There will be several rehearsals, and you have to practice the piano continuously every day to ensure that your piano skills are not rusty and you can produce good works.
Talking about his parents, He Sheng expressed that he occasionally had regrets. "After I came to the mainland to study at university, I rarely went back to visit my parents. I wanted to go back before, but due to the many performances, I couldn't spare the time. But when I think of them, I also feel guilty for the lack of company." He Sheng was very grateful to him. 's parents. "My parents definitely want their children to go back, but they understand and support my studies and career, and they feel comfortable letting me go back to the mainland."
During the New Year in Macau, He Sheng would go to a teahouse with his family and relatives for New Year's Eve dinner. When I was in Guangzhou, I spent time with the kitten. "When a person celebrates the New Year in the Mainland, he will put up Spring Festival couplets and do general cleaning when he has time. He will cook a sumptuous New Year's Eve dinner for himself on New Year's Eve and give extra meals to the kittens. But when work gets busy, he doesn't even have time for Spring Festival couplets and general cleaning. It’s done, it’s more casual.”
“I’m used to not going back to Macau for the New Year.” Now, He Sheng has settled in Guangzhou. He rented a small house in Panyu and raised a kitten. He usually took on commercial performances to earn some extra money and lived a relaxed and comfortable life. "I love the violin very much, and I also love my study and work very much. I have my own home, my own kitten, and I also make money from my own hobbies. Life like this is enough."
Mainland (Mainland) and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan have always had close ties and exchanges, and young people are our common future and hope. Whether they are studying, working, traveling or having family reunions in the Mainland (Mainland), the Mainland (Mainland) welcomes compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to return to this land and experience the enthusiasm and customs of the Mainland (Mainland). The sound of New Year's firecrackers echoes in our ears, and the festive atmosphere permeates our hearts. I hope that in the new year, compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan can find their own stage in the mainland (mainland) and enrich their lives.
Written by: Intern Gan Xiaolin
