Liubas Irina, a Russian girl who just arrived in Nanjing three months ago, enjoyed Qinhuai Lantern Festival for the very first time to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Irina came from Vladivostok. She has been fond of Chinese culture since she was a little girl. “I like listening to Chinese music, watching Chinese TV series. And I have a favorite pop star and band. After graduating from high school, I decided to go to China.” Irina got to know China better though learning Chinese pop culture.

In 2017, Irina came to northern China’s Harbin and spend her first Chinese New year there, “I spent the festival with a Chinese family. I wrote spring couplets, lit fireworks, made dumplings and got lucky money too. I will always cherish those memories.”

Having been lived in Harbin for five years, Irina wanted to learn more about China. She applied for bachelor study of Chinese language at Nanjing Normal University. Due to COVID pandemic, she had to take online classes in the first year. By the end of 2022, she finally came to China to meet her teacher and classmates who have been so kind to her. She paid a special visit to the university’s library, a place she was interested in for a long time. “It looks like an open book from the outside. The well-stocked library is one of my favorite places here.”

Walking with her newly hand-made rabbit lantern, Irina knew more about Chinese New Year. “With ancient handicraft, modern luminal art, AI technology and creative styles, people may have the amazing feeling of traveling between the past and the present.” Irina has seen the crystal ice lanterns in northern China, and now the coloful lanterns in southern China. She was really impressed by China’s rich culture. “I’m so curious about how they made the 15-meter-high set of lanterns,” Irina said she would take her friends to visit the lantern show again.

In the new year, Irina wants to visit more places in Nanjing, to get to know the city better.

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