Xi Story: Pursuing genuine, unvarnished growth with correct view on governance performance

In the days surrounding the start of the Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, Wang Qinyan enters her busiest season each year, working tirelessly in her workshop in Shexian county, Huangshan city, east China's Anhui Province, to fulfill orders for fish-shaped lanterns.

Taicang, with its permanent resident population of less than one million, is a small city on the south bank of Yangtze River estuary. Known as the "hometown of German enterprises" in China, Taicang has gathered over 560 German-funded enterprises so far since the first German company Kern-Liebers settled here in 1993.

From bustling ski slopes in Heilongjiang Province in China's far northeast to booming duty-free shopping in south China's Hainan Province, the country's record-long Spring Festival holiday saw a surge in travel, retail activity and tech-powered consumption, underscoring the country's economic vitality and growing global appeal.

Tourists watch waist drum performance at a night market in Dunhuang, northwest China's Gansu Province, Feb. 12, 2026. Various festive events are held across China to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year of the Horse.

South China's tech hub of Shenzhen, home to the leading global drone maker DJI, has to date opened a total of 310 low-altitude logistics routes, with 82 new routes added in 2025, according to the ongoing annual session of the municipal people's congress.