For the Chinese, the New Year brings a load of pleasant things, such as the promise of prosperity.
For foreigners, a documentary reflects their thoughts about the event.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) produced a documentary entitled “Chinese New Year: The Biggest Celebration on Earth.”
BBC Two aired the three-part series, which it called “extravagant, eye-opening and astonishing,” from Feb. 14-16.
This year, the Chinese New Year, which BBC described as “monumental,” fell on Jan. 28, a Monday.
English television host Kate Humble said she went to Hong Kong to know how the Chinese celebrate “the most important festival in their calendar” and to experience the “richness” of their culture, according to BBC.
Humble witnessed the different preparations and activities undertaken by the Chinese before and during the “extraordinary annual event.”
In “Migration” (Episode 1), the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival impressed Humble and her two co-presenters, English TV host and founder of U.K.-based Evanta Motor Company, Ant Anstead and British-Chinese actress Jing Lusi.
While aboard a taxi on his way to Beijing, Ma Yingqi, the driver, said to Anstead that the “Spring Festival rush” was the one causing the traffic.
The viewers of “Reunion” (Episode 2) saw Lusi behind the scenes of the top-rated “CCTV New Year’s Gala,” aka “Spring Festival Gala.”
The visit to Yunnan Province seemed like a bed of roses for Humble where she cut and sorted roses to be brought at the Kunming International Flora Auction Trading Center.
Anstead and Humble went to Hong Kong for “Celebration” (Episode 3) where the female host learned steps for dragon-dancing. Both observed how fireworks lit up the nighttime sky of Hong Kong’s harbor.
Anstead visited Jilin Province and saw how fishermen would catch fish at the frozen Chagan Lake.
The Hairy Bikers, composed of English TV hosts Dave Myers and Si King, also appeared in the series. They went to Guangzhou Province and helped served congee to motor bikers, with Myers exclaiming “Kung Hei Fat Choy!”
The duo also explored the Xinfadi Food Market in Beijing and participated in the city’s temple fair.
The BBC series received 12 million views in the country, reported China Daily.
Last year, BBC asked the Shanghai-born Lusi, who was raised in Britain, to host “My Chinese New Year,” aired on March 1, 2015 in BBC One.
Even in the 21st century, many Chinese still believe in superstitions.
In the almost 2-hour documentary, the 30-year-old actress interviewed Canadian-born British experimental psychologist Bruce Hood. She asked Hood for “a more rational explanation” regarding “the role of ancient superstitions” in today’s time, according to BBC.
Lusi currently plays a casino owner operating illegally in the British TV drama series “Stan Lee's Lucky Man.”