Editor's note: Many international students chose to stay in China for the 2022 Chinese New Year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This issue of China News Release invites international students to share their special "stories of the Spring Festival."

"I Was Deeply Touched by the Kind and Friendly Chinese People"

Said Amzil (Morocco)

Said Amzil buys a spring couplet in Shanghai on Feb. 1, 2022.

Ever since I could remember, my father has had a strong "Chinese complex." He is enamored with the Chinese language and culture. Under his influence, I've read Chinese poetry, watched Chinese movies, and listened to Chinese music since I was a child. I had a long-held dream of "going to China." For me, China has always been "a land of poetry and books"! I am fascinated by everything here.

In 2018, I set foot on the Chinese land, beginning the journey of immersing myself in Chinese culture. Now, I have become a doctoral candidate at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. China provides a high-quality international educational system. I am very fortunate to have the opportunity to study in China.

Through close observations over the past few years, I have been amazed by the development achievements China has made. I am deeply touched by the kind, friendly and compassionate Chinese people. I am most impressed by the kind smiles of the locals wherever I go. As a foreigner, I am comforted and soothed by those smiling faces, which helped me adapt to studying in China more quickly.

China is an ancient civilization with a long history, and the Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival for the Chinese people. This year, I was invited to celebrate the Spring Festival with a friend from Ji'nan. A slew of celebration activities begins before New Year's Eve, such as spring-cleaning, doing Spring Festival shopping, pasting Spring Festival couplets... During the Spring Festival, the streets and alleys are bedecked with red lanterns. The "centerpiece" of the Spring Festival is the New Year's Eve dinner. On New Year's Eve, each family will cook together and enjoy a sumptuous meal for reunion. The dishes on New Year's Eve are often served with special blessings. For example, "fish" represents increasing affluence every year. "Spring Festival cake" suggests that people will make continued progress in work and life in the new year. On the first day of the Lunar New Year, people will put on new clothes and pay a new year call on relatives and friends. The elderly will give "lucky money" to younger generation as a Lunar New Year gift, implying health and safety in the new year.