New Year's Day, farewell to the old and welcome the new, we bid farewell to 2023 and entered 2024. This New Year's holiday made us feel the extra warm festive atmosphere.
Tourism continues to heat up, from south to north, this holiday is full, from the ice and snow tour in Harbin to the seaside relaxation in Sanya, the festival has become a fashion in tourism. The single-day box office of the New Year's Eve stalls exceeded 700 million, breaking the highest box office record in Chinese film history in the same period. Although the New Year's Eve parties of many TV stations have lasted for many years, this time they also showed a different style and gained a good reputation. The warm atmosphere of the festival decorates this New Year's Day with extraordinary brilliance, and also highlights its different significance, reflecting that people are actually waving goodbye to the past year with joy and entering the new year with joy and anti-expectation. These real-life landscapes, as well as the real emotions of the people revealed in them, can help us better understand China today and grasp more realistic and concrete social cognitions.
This atmosphere is not accidental. Throughout 2023, there has been a warm atmosphere in Chinese society in the pursuit of a better life, from the explosion of Zibo barbecue, to the emergence of village supers and village BAs, or the hot sales of "Mate 60 Pro" and the popularity of electric vehicles, all kinds of hot spots continue to appear in various fields of daily life, which are actually manifestations of social activity and people's confidence in the future. The atmosphere of this New Year's Day is actually an extension of all this.
Of course, the drastic changes in the international situation have brought us a complex impact, and the society is facing some challenges in the development and transformation of the economy, but the spirit of Chinese society has always been there, and the general trend of the overall improvement of Chinese society is still extending. The enthusiasm of this New Year's Day holiday is actually a projection of the real social psychology of the moment, and it is also a demonstration of the real collective consciousness. A society needs such a node as a footnote at a time when it is full of energy and striving to move forward.
We can feel a sense of optimism, a social mood and social atmosphere that is constantly moving beyond the past to a better future. We are relieved or relieved about the past, and we are full of hope for the future.
We can see the unwavering faith. At present, China's economic transformation does face some challenges, and some Westerners have spared no effort to undermine China's economy and China's development. They often paint a picture of their imaginary "miserable and miserable relatives", "brain" and fictional a bleak China, and they are good at infinitely magnifying certain local problems and using them to demean Chinese society. It's their inner expectation, it's a sign of their anxiety. But the dynamism of the reality of China, the confidence of ordinary people in their own future and the future of their country, is the reality they are trying to shield. Isn't the atmosphere of this New Year's Day the truest expression of faith?If a society is depressed, negative and depressed, how can there be such a moment of vitality to say goodbye to the old and welcome the new?
We can see the real trust, the trust in the direction of the country's development, the trust in social progress, the trust in a society that has been growing rapidly for more than 40 years to continuously improve its own capabilities and strength, and also the trust that the country's development can benefit the people. Different from the pessimistic picture imagined and exaggerated by some Western people, people can realize that the challenges and problems we encounter are the situation in the process of progress and the situation in the midst of profound changes. These conditions are inevitable in the course of economic and social changes, and they can also be overcome and resolved. The vitality of China's society and country to keep moving forward and improving, and the tenacity to face challenges and problems head-on, is the foundation of people's trust, and this trust converges into real power, shapes social identity, rejuvenates social vitality, and provides inexhaustible impetus for social progress.
Confidence is the expectation of the future, which makes people believe that the future will be better, and they have expectations for the continuous improvement of society. Trust is a commitment to society, with trust in society, people will have the faith and courage to overcome difficulties and problems, and be able to walk more firmly and confidently in the face of challenges. This moment of saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new is actually the best moment to show confidence and trust, in this moment, people clearly "review" the past and plan for the future. It is in a mood of optimism that people say goodbye to 2023 and enter 2024, which gives this New Year's Day a real warmth, and people are moving towards a better future in the "bright lights".
The author is a professor at Peking University).
*: Global Times.
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