Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

As the 2025 Chinese New Year arrived, the festive atmosphere in the Hetao Irrigation Area, located in Bayannur, North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, was so vibrant that I could feel the joy in the air as soon as I arrived and started to stroll along the street. 

Local ethnic Mongolians call the Spring Festival "White Moon." For them, the festive season represents truth, purity, integrity and beauty in social life. 

During the Spring Festival celebration, ethnic Mongolian people conduct many rituals together. 

The celebration started on the 23rd day of the 12th month of the traditional Chinese calendar with a sacrificial fire ceremony. As musicians play songs on the morin khuur, the traditional Mongolian horse-headed fiddle, people dance around a large fire, singing traditional songs. 

These traditional performances are part of the Mongolian ethnic group's prayers for a bountiful new year. I joined them dancing around the fire with lots of other tourists. 

During preparations for the fire ritual, I saw people cleaning their courtyards and houses. After sunset, the host lit a handful of incense and walked around the house. The host then inserted the incense into a brazier and the sacrifice ceremony began. 

Through rituals such as these, the ethnic Mongolian people expressed their respect for fire and yearning for a better life. 

The main sacrificial offerings included lamb breast, fried rice, butter, milk tofu, grapes and black sugar. 

As one of the oldest sacrificial activities of the ethnic Mongolian people, the fire sacrifice carries profound cultural connotations. Local residents told me that for them, fire is the symbol of purity and regarded as the incarnation of the gods as it can bring warmth and light.

Through activities including fire sacrifices, people of the Mongolian ethnic group promote their rich cultural heritage. 

In the grassland area, ethnic Mongolians also carry out the Sacrifice to Obo, another ritual during the Spring Festival season. An Obo, meaning "heap" in Mongolian, is usually made of stones piled up into a conical solid tower, with a long pole inserted at the top and animal hair, horns and scripture-covered cloth strips tied to the top of the pole.

During the ritual I attended, ethnic Mongolian people walked around the Obo. Within each circle, they prayed for good weather, prosperity in the livestock industry as well as health and happiness in life. 

The ritual was inscribed as a national-level intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

On Chinese New Year's Eve, I saw Mongolian families drank milk tea and milk wine, and ate boiled mutton, dairy products, dumpling and pies. They held their wine glasses high, wishing the elder generation good health. Their rooms were filled with joy and the smell of tea and wine.  

The diners exchanged new year wishes to each other by proposing toasts. They toasted Heaven and Earth and paid respect to the gods. 

To extend their new year wishes, the younger generation offered blue hada, pieces of silk used as greeting gifts, to the elder generation. The faces of the elder generation lit up with smiles. It's clear that family reunion always brings joy and laughter. 

Between peers, people exchanged snuff bottles with each other. 

Engaging in winter sports is another trendy activity during the Spring Festival holiday. With average temperatures hovering around - 25 C during winter, the lakes have turned into hot spot for winter sports. Experiencing a heavy snow one week before the Spring Festival, Bayannur became must-go places for winter sports enthusiasts. 

In the parking lot at the Duolanhu Ski Resort, it was not an easy task to find a spot to park. Families flocked to the resort center all day long. A staff member told me that they have been so busy since the school winter vacation began, people working there had not been able to take a vacation. The lobby was packed with visitors. 

On a walking street in downtown Bayannur, an ancient town was decorated with red lanterns. Residents call the zone "Xiao Wang Fu," as they see it as a mini version of Wangfujing, the busiest commercial street in Beijing. Visitors took a stroll along the street, tasting local snacks. 

From sesame candy to traditional sugar figurines, from barbecue to nuts, I was dazzled by the many options on the street. 

Traditional and modern celebrations harmoniously blend in this land, attracting more visitors to experience a Spring Festival with a unique ethnic Mongolian flavor.

Looking up, colorful fireworks lit up the sky and I heard friends greeting each other, sharing their new year resolutions. Laughter filled the street.  

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. life@globaltimes.com.cn