China ushers in Year of the Tiger with strength, vigor

-- Chinese Year of the Tiger wishes customarily include being bold, fearless and strong, but many may want to add a pandemic-era special wish to dispel sickness and ailment.

-- For the Chinese, this Year of the Tiger will be an occasion of "double happiness," with the hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

-- Data shows that the population of wild Siberian tigers in a national park in northeast China has expanded to 50, compared to 27 in 2017.

BEIJING -- Chinese Year of the Tiger wishes customarily include being bold, fearless and strong, but many may want to add a pandemic-era special wish to dispel sickness and ailment.

The Year of the Tiger, according to the Chinese Zodiac, runs from Feb. 1, 2022 to Jan. 21, 2023. In Chinese culture, the tiger symbolizes bravery, vigor and strength that can lift people from adversity and usher in final auspiciousness and peace.

During the holiday season, people take home couplets and Fu (meaning good luck in English) characters, to be pasted on doors. Fashionistas don tiger-shadow shirts or striped sneakers. In rural areas where people still believe the tiger is a patron deity for children, they would go to the open market and buy a pair of tiger-shaped shoes or hats or let their little ones toddle in tiger-themed red overalls. Though social distancing and mass testing are being used to contain COVID-19 resurgence, people celebrate Spring Festival reunions in the festive period of time.

China sent away the Year of the Ox, with a strong rebound in its economy despite sporadic resurgences of COVID-19 cases. Its gross domestic product expanded 8.1 percent year on year to 114.37 trillion yuan (about 18 trillion U.S. dollars) last year, continuing to lead the world in both economic recovery and pandemic control, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

Photo taken with a mobile phone shows children looking at street decorations for the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 16, 2022. [Xinhua/Zhang Chuanqi]

In 2022, the world's second-largest economy is hoped to be just as robust, as the traditional Chinese sayings go, like "spirited dragon and dynamic tiger", or "soaring dragon and leaping tiger".

By Jan. 28, according to WHO figures, there had been over 360 million COVID-19 cases globally. The pandemic is yet to end, and China is battling resurgences, reporting 54 new local infections on Saturday.

To meet the severe challenges facing humanity, "we must 'add wings to the tiger' and act with the courage and strength of the tiger to overcome all obstacles on our way forward," Chinese President Xi Jinping told the virtual session of the 2022 World Economic Forum on Jan. 17.

"We must do everything necessary to clear the shadow of the pandemic and boost economic and social recovery and development, so that the sunshine of hope may light up the future of humanity," he said.

The video screenshot shows a wild Siberian tiger released back into the wild in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province on May 18, 2021. [Xinhua]

A FAVORITE ANIMAL

The tiger is the third of the 12 Chinese Zodiac animals, which also include rat, ox, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. Folklore experts say the Chinese have long admired the tiger for its prowess and strength, and the Year of the Tiger may be particularly auspicious.

Chinese people often take the Chinese word Hu, meaning tiger in English, as given names for its positive associations, and parents nicknames their sons "huzi," meaning "little tigers," hoping they will grow up as self-confident and strong. The Year of the Tiger brings nice perks. The Shanghai Zoo offers free tickets to anyone whose name has "tiger" in it during the Spring Festival holiday season. Luxury brands have also found muse and inspiration from the striped king of beasts and delighted customers with their New Year specials.

Students learn to make tiger-head shoes at a community center in Leidian Township of Deqing County, Huzhou City, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 23, 2022. [Photo by Yao Haixiang/Xinhua]

EXTRA DELIGHT

For the Chinese, this Year of the Tiger will be an occasion of "double happiness," with the hosting of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Nearly 3,000 athletes from approximately 90 countries and regions will compete at Beijing 2022, which features more events and will produce more gold medals than any previous Winter Games.

The Olympics has brought about an unprecedented boom in winter sports in China. The number of Chinese people who have participated in winter sports-related activities has reached 346 million, surpassing the goal of 300 million, according to sports authorities. Ice-biking on a frozen lake or sliding down on an inflatable snow sled has become popular winter holiday pastimes in parks.

Photo taken on Jan. 15, 2022 shows Siberian tigers at the Siberian Tiger Park in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. [Xinhua/Wang Jianwei]

SUSTAINABILITY, HOPE

In 2010, the previous Year of the Tiger, wild Siberian tigers, an endangered species, were forecast to vanish from China. But a zodiac circle passed, the tiger culture-revering nation has taken necessary actions to turn the tide. Data shows that the population of wild Siberian tigers in a national park in northeast China has expanded to 50, compared to 27 in 2017.

The Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, covering 14,000 square kilometers and conserving wildlife in the area, and also home to 100,000 people, is a challenging task. The park is expected to provide 10,000 jobs in ecological conservation to manage human-animal conflict. Efforts like closing factories and mines, forest vegetation restoration, and close monitoring of wildlife have changed the fate of the big cat.

July 29 marks International Tiger Day, and the conservation efforts have paid off. "We need to continue to protect tiger diversity, habitat and promote the tiger culture," said Zhang Feng, a paleobiologist based in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Video reporters: Fan Changguo, Chen Hao, Sun Xinjing, Lu Jinbo, Ding Chunyu, Fan Junwei, Du Honggang, Zhang Sijie, Zhang Chenjun, Si Xiaoshuai, Shao Meiqi, Gao Nan; Video editors: Zhao Yuchao, Mu Xuyao