The Chinese New Year celebrations, also known as the Spring Festival, are an intrinsic part of China's rich culture. In recent years, the beginning of a new lunar year has also been marked in Latvia.

This year, however, the celebrations will be different because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

On Feb 12, 2021, the Year of the Ox will begin, and on that day the China Cultural Center in Riga will launch a series of events under the title "2021 Happy Chinese New Year."

These will include videos, online exhibitions, presentations and interactive experiences, inviting the locals to share the joy of China's national festivity.

Jekaterina Belajeva, an admirer of Chinese paintings and one of the organizers of an art contest dedicated to the coming Year of the Ox, said she was surprised that the contest elicited such a vivid public interest in Latvia.

Professional and amateur artists, Latvian art luminaries and other creative people, adults and children alike, took part in the contests with great enthusiasm. The 45 artworks shortlisted for the competition included paintings, graphic art, sculptures, crafts, origami and even poetry.

Some of the works, executed in the traditional Chinese style, had been created by participants of The Flying Paintbrush, a unique amateur art group led by Belajeva.

The China Culture Center in Riga will publish the best artworks on its social media pages.

The China Cultural Center in Riga has extended an open invitation to the public to join the festivities online and learn about the Chinese people's New Year traditions and customs.