Spring Festival holiday abuzz with travel, cultural celebrations

春节假期,旅游和文化庆祝活动热闹非凡

The Beijing Hour

2026-02-16

59 分钟
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Hundreds of millions of Chinese people are taking advantage of a long Spring Festival holiday, reuniting with family or traveling, as festivities across the country heat up on Chinese New Year’s Eve (01:13). Iran and the United States are preparing for a new round of talks in Geneva although stark differences remain (14:15). And Japan’s economic growth fell well short of expectation in Q4 2025 amid weak business spending and faltering exports (21:43).
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  • Get the unmissable news stories of the day.

  • This is the Beijing Hour.

  • This is the Beijing Hour, one hour of news and information brought to you every weekday.

  • Now here's your host, Shane Diggum with you on this Monday, February the 16th, 2026.

  • You're listening to a special holiday edition of the Beijing Hour coming to you live from the Chinese capital.

  • On today's program,

  • it's Chinese New Year's Eve ushering in the year of the horse and hundreds of millions of Chinese people are traveling over the nine-day holiday period.

  • Iran and the US are preparing for another round of nuclear talks despite stark differences differences in what each side is aiming for.

  • Japan's economy in the fourth quarter grew at a much slower pace than expected,

  • with business spending and exports faltering.

  • Today we begin a three-part special series tracing the legacy of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on the ice,

  • on the slopes, and beyond.

  • In our first episode,

  • we head to Chongli to see how the Games helped transform this former Olympic host into a thriving hub for the snow,

  • ice and snow economy.

  • Now the day's top stories.

  • Monday is Chinese New Year's Eve and people are ringing in the year of the horse.

  • Hundreds of millions are traveling back home or have already arrived for the family reunion dinner.

  • The nine-day Spring Festival holiday began on Sunday.

  • It's the longest break in recent years, offering a chance to arrange longer trips.