Spring Festival celebrations to light up 6 continents

More than 2,000 events, including concerts, film screenings, parades and exhibitions, are set to be held in more than 140 countries across the world to celebrate the upcoming Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, which falls on Feb 8.

The series of events, first introduced by the Ministry of Culture six years ago, is called Happy Spring Festival and is aimed at engaging international audiences in the festivities.

From late January to the end of February, international symphony orchestras - including world-renowned ensembles from Chicago and Melbourne - will perform both traditional and contemporary Chinese works, while classic acrobatic performances and contemporary song and dance shows will be put on by art troupes from around the country, including those from Hunan and Zhejiang provinces.