Re-settlers get free couplets, pictures from local artists

The re-settlers, who moved to new homes under the poverty-alleviation resettlement project in northeast Yunnan’s Huize County, got free couplets and pictures on Feb 3 from artists with local associations of calligraphers and photographers.

Wang Wenxuan, a villager from the once impoverished Malu township, moved to the county town in 2019 and has worked as a drinking-water porter ever since. Now, his son has been admitted by Zhejiang University, and he leads a happy life with the family.

When a calligrapher presented him a Spring Festival couplets, Wang and his family were quite pleased. The poetry-like lines on the couplets read “drop the outdated habits and customs from now on, and live life to the fullest with happiness even more.”

Setting up couplets and pictures on doors or walls and giving little gifts to each other are among the Chinese traditions that remain popular during the Spring Festival, which will fall on Feb. 12 this year.

“Get closer to the central one!” “Raise your head and show your teeth,” said the photographers, who were taking photos for the re-settlers on the other side of the square. The re-settlers were more than happy at their framed free family photos.

For the ones who were not on the spot, local volunteers visited their homes, giving couplets, scarves, gloves and others. They aim to help re-settlers quickly adapt to life in the new community.

Source: Yunnan Net; Trans-editing by Wang Shixue