Visual China
The first Spring Festival after COVID-19 infection and the implementation of "Class B and Class B management", cinemas recovered, night markets reappeared, and parks were filled with colorful street lights... Under these signals, some young people began to explore and try to make the Spring Festival a different experience.
Entertaining Chinese New Year: I prefer friends to relatives
On the fifth day of the lunar new year, Song Yinze, who studied at the China Conservatory of Music, rented a car with a friend and rushed from Shenyang to Liaoyang for a long-awaited "brotherly engagement". Since a good friend is a soldier in the army, and several other people work and study in various places, there are few opportunities to meet. "I heard that he has time for this Spring Festival, and several of us in Shenyang hit it off immediately, and set out all the way south.".
At the dinner table, friends talked about everything from the memory of the students to the interesting things around them two or three days ago. A friend was preparing for the examination of the China Conservatory of Music. Song Yinze took the initiative to share his learning experience and told him about the top piano equipped in the school piano room.
Song Yinze also asked his college classmates to go skiing. "We are all skating for the first time. It's wonderful for old friends to try new things together.". From zero foundation to walking with equipment in the snow, and then to sliding down the ramp for the first time, his friends witnessed his progress.
"Seeing good friends is equal to taking oxygen." In Song Yinze's opinion, seeing friends is the antidote to tired life, and he can express himself freely in front of them. "Some words cannot be said to his parents, but only shared with his best friends.". The frank communication with his friends relaxed his mental state at once, and he didn't feel tired even talking until four or five o'clock in the morning.
Song Yinze wrote in the circle of friends: "We are good friends and relatives selected by ourselves. We have free talk and top-level planning in the long years."
Rechargeable Spring Festival: taking time off from work, status reset
Li Siqi will not visit relatives and friends, attend classmate gatherings or go out for fun during the Spring Festival holiday this year, and will only do what he likes to do. "The holiday is not long. I will leave my limited time for myself."
In July 2022, Li Siqi graduated from university and joined the "Beipiao Army". The rhythm of the new job is very tense. "I feel as if I have been hollowed out. Even if I go to bed early every day, I will be very tired the next day".
Half a month before the Spring Festival, Li Siqi began to plan his own "Spring Festival Charging" plan. During that time, she worked late every day to finish all the work that might need to be done during the holiday. Colleagues described her as "like a work machine without feelings".
In addition to completing the work ahead of schedule, Li Siqi also needs to convince his parents. At first, parents didn't agree when they heard that Li Siqi wanted to spend the Spring Festival at home alone. Li Siqi used his mobile phone to record the day's life, what he ate every day, and what work he needed to complete. "My parents don't agree because they can't feel tired, so I let them immerse themselves in it."
Sure enough, the method was very effective, and Li Siqi's parents agreed to her plan. In order not to make relatives feel impolite, they lied that Li Siqi was "Yang" on the way home. During the 7-day holiday, Li Siqi woke up naturally every day, watching plays, brushing short videos, reading books, eating, or lying in a daze without doing anything.
Overtime New Year celebration: make money and be happy
Yang Fan stayed alone in Beijing to become a "pet custodian", feeding and shoveling feces for the pets left behind during the Spring Festival. "There are a lot of lists during the Spring Festival. My service for pets is very meticulous and the fees are relatively high. I have earned a small 10000 yuan these days. Although I am tired, I feel happy to make money."
Last December, Yang Fan took the second postgraduate exam in her life in Beijing. After struggling for a long time, she chose to stay alone in the rental house to work overtime for the New Year. Compared with family reunion, Yang Fan is more afraid of relatives' inquiries. Yang Fan said, "When I came to the big city to go to college, my classmates and friends around me showed countless possibilities of life. Choosing to take the postgraduate entrance exam is to go higher and see more scenery, rather than go through life step by step."
Pets need to be taken care of, but Yang Fan feels that this part-time job is also a two-way cure for himself and the small animals. "I like cats very much. I come to take care of them and accompany them, which is actually the process of healing myself."
Psychological expert Hu Shenzhi once said: "Every generation has its own way of life and life strategies. The post-70s, post-80s, post-90s and post-00s generations have different growth environments and survival strategies."
Tan Sijing, trainee reporter of China Youth Daily and China Youth Network Source: China Youth Daily
