(Han Lei & Lei Ting)

Nine city gates of Suzhou were adorned with giant Spring Festival couplets to celebrate the Lunar New Year on February 4.

As a tradition, people usually paste a pair of auspicious, poetic lines, written in black ink on red paper, on either side of the door to mark the biggest traditional festival.

Suzhou has a history of more than 2,500 years, and its ancient city gates are regarded as a core symbol of its cultural heritage. Initiated by Xinhua Daily Media Group, this event has been held for seven consecutive years since 2018, integrating the architectural heritage with cultural elements such as poetry and calligraphy.

This year’s event began collecting the poetry lines in last September and received over 10,000 entries within a month. Experts in Spring Festival couplets and cultural figures jointly selected nine pairs of lines for Suzhou, which were then penned by Chinese calligraphy masters.

The event was accompanied by a market showcasing intangible cultural heritage items, located near the Xiangmen city wall. Calligraphers were also present to write Spring Festival couplets for the public.