On February 3, the Kanas’ “Invites You to Celebrate The Original New Year” event, hosted by Xinjiang Kanas Scenic Area, officially kicked off at the Hongbasi Ice Park in Hemu Village, Xinjiang. The celebratory event provides visitors with an opportunity to experience some of the area’s most original New Year customs that are compelling in their very simplicity.
This year’s “The Original New Year” includes a series of exciting activities popular with visitors, including, the iconic tradition of “cracking the bones and sucking the marrow”. On each New Year’s Eve, local residents boil a bovine’s hind legs, visit their neighbors and join in the prayer for a happy and healthy life, in much way as the marrow fills the bones.
In addition to riding in a horse-drawn sled and spending a few minutes trying their luck with ancient fur skis, among other traditional experience events available to visitors, this year’s lineup of events also provide travelers an opportunity to try on a variety of traditional Chinese garments and shoot a short video of themselves sporting the garments, with the aim of having visitors help promote tourism in Kanas by transforming Kanas Scenic Areainto a “must see” destination.
This year’s “The Original New Year” is a true exploration into the local culture and the area’s many traditional activities in celebration of Chinese New Year. The event provides visitors with a meaningful and memorable experience by giving them an opportunity to enjoy the festival in much the same way local inhabitants have been celebrating it for hundreds if not thousands of years. The event reflects and plays a key role in enhancing the recognition of the local culture and in boosting the growth of the tourism sector in Xinjiang.
