Little New Year (Chinese: Xiaonian), usually a week before the Lunar New Year, falls on Feb 2 this year. On this day, nearly 60 international students from Nankai University participated in a series of celebratory activities in Tianjin's Jizhou district.

An international student picks tomatoes. [Photo by Wang Jinyi and Su Qing]

In Liuzhuanghu Village, the international students felt the joy of picking farm produce in the warm greenhouse. The yellow tomatoes were particularly eye-catching for the Tajikistani students, as they have never seen these yellow tomatoes in their hometown.

Chuanfangyu Market, where a dazzling array of goods lined both sides of the street, left the international students amazed. They listened to the introduction of Chinese traditional customs, while tasting local delicacies and appreciating the Spring Festival couplets.

International students learn to make dumplings. [Photo by Wang Jinyi and Su Qing]

Learning to make dumplings was the highlight of the day. With the help of a skilled chef, these students tried to make dumplings together. "I love eating dumplings at our university's canteen, and this is my first time making them myself! I have to taste how they turn out," said a Pakistani student.

An international student learns to write Chinese calligraphy with a writing brush. [Photo by Wang Jinyi and Su Qing]

International students learn paper-cutting skills [Photo by Wang Jinyi and Su Qing]

During the calligraphy and paper-cutting activities, international students picked up writing brushes to learn to write the Chinese calligraphy for Spring Festival couplets. They also tried to cut out the four Chinese characters of "spring" (Chinese: Chun) at once.

An international student takes a selfie with the local folk dancers. [Photo by Wang Jinyi and Su Qing]

A grand folk performance rounded off the day for the overseas students. Students from Uzbekistan put on folk dance costumes and joined in the dancing with the locals.

"This whole day has been truly amazing and meaningful!" they all said.