New Spring Festival trends reflect a changing China

Spring Festival is a traditional annual celebration in China and is one of the most important dates on the Chinese Lunar calendar. This year's celebration, which lasts from Feb 18 to Feb 25, saw several new trends which reflect the changing face of China even as it celebrates this age-old festival.

A girl holds the traditional red envelopes (left) and the electronic red envelopes (right) in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, Feb 2, 2015. [Photo/IC]

Electronic red envelopes

Chinese tradition of giving and receiving red envelopes during Spring Festival takes a new twist this year with the popularity of electronic red envelopes.

On the eve of Chinese Spring Festival, the number of electronic red envelopes given and received via WeChat amounts to 1.01 billion, 200 times that of 2014, while the number of electronic red envelopes given and received via QQ and Alipay is 637 million and 240 million respectively.