To carry forward the fine traditional Chinese culture and build the distinctive culture of the colleges, the College of Engineering and Jingyi College held a splendid New Year's Day Garden Party from 19:30 to 21:30 on the evening of December 31, 2024. The event drew a successful close to the past year, while ushering in the wonderful chapters of the new year.

Nearly 300 people participated in the event. The venue was bustling with excitement, filled with the joyful festive atmosphere. Let's now look back at the wonderful moments of the event!

The Calligraphy and Painting Association conducted on-site creation of square "Fu" (blessing) calligraphy works and Spring Festival couplets. It also provided basic calligraphy lessons, guiding students on correct brush holding and movement techniques, as well as skills for writing the "Fu" character, to promote the exchange and learning of calligraphy art. This highlight of the event not only allowed students to learn various calligraphy skills, but also immersed them in the charm of traditional Chinese culture, feeling the New Year blessings conveyed by the character "Fu" in every stroke.

The creative collage activity at the garden party gave students full space for imagination and creation. Students turned into young poets, freely combining the materials to write down their New Year wishes, creating widely appealing works. They pasted their creations on custom-made cards to make unique New Year collage pieces. The finished works were strung together with hemp rope and hung at the event venue, like banners carrying dreams and aspirations, telling everyone's beautiful expectations for the new year.

The Snake Year-themed Greedy Snake game was full of fun and challenges. Students competed in teams of three, with each participant playing the role of the snake head, snake body, and snake tail respectively. The snake head and snake body had to wear blindfolds to simulate the limited vision of a snake, while the snake tail (the team member without a blindfold) needed to guide the snake head and body to avoid obstacles and move forward through voice commands. The game was full of fun and challenges, testing the tacit understanding, communication and collaboration skills among team members. Laughter and cheers filled the venue one after another, creating a warm and joyful atmosphere.

With music as the medium, beautiful singing added romance and passion to the event. Students expressed their New Year wishes and dreams through melodies, celebrating the arrival of the new year together. From solo performances to group choruses, the power of music inspired vitality and hope for the new year. The wonderful singing echoed through the college, dancing in the hearts of students with expectations for the new year, embodying the vitality and hope of the new year.

During the event, students experienced making sugar paintings by hand, and felt the unique charm of this traditional folk art. Each sugar painting, featuring New Year dreams, was a microcosm of a dream, symbolizing the start of a new journey. It implied that the new year would be filled with sweetness and hope, leading the way for new dreams.

The Wish Wheel session brought surprise and anticipation to the event. Students actively forwarded the event pre-heat post to collect likes for a chance to spin the wheel. They turned the "Blessings Fill New Wishes" lucky wheel to win good fortune and exquisite small gifts. Every spin of the wheel tugged at everyone's heartstrings, as they hoped for luck to come, and wished for good fortune in the new year.

This event received an enthusiastic response and high praise from the participants. The diverse forms of activities met the needs of students with different interests, allowing every participant to find joy in the event. Whether it was the culturally rich calligraphy and sugar painting making, the challenging and fun games, the festive venue decoration, or the enchanting music session, all left a deep impression on the participants. They gained happiness, friendship and beautiful wishes for the new year, and were infused with full positive energy for the coming year.

As the last rays of the setting sun in 2024 faded, we welcomed the first ray of dawn of 2025 together at this New Year's Day Garden Party.

May the new year bring you all abundant blessings and good fortune, just as you wished for at the event. May all your dreams come true on the new journey, and may good fortune be with you all year round!

Contributed by: Prefect Team of Jingyi College