BEIJING, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Multiple organizations in China released the most popular Chinese characters and phrases of 2024 on Friday, offering insight into the evolving trends of the country and the world.
The top ten domestic buzzwords feature five Chinese characters for "integration," "intelligence," "new," "safety," and "stability" as well as the terms of "new-quality productive force," "Black Myth: Wukong," "work fatigue," "low-altitude economy" and "digital transformation."
These buzzwords refer to various dimensions of China's domestic society, ranging from its integrated and innovative development powered by new-quality productive forces and digital transformation, to cultural and economic phenomena in 2024 such as video game hit "Black Myth: Wukong" and its burgeoning low-altitude economy including drone deliveries.
The top ten global buzzwords are characters for "election," "war," "change," "turbulence" and "nuclear" and the terms of "Paris Olympics," "Global South," "Artificial Intelligence," "drones" and "Large Language Model."
The lists were compiled using an algorithm that analyzed a corpus of Chinese characters along with public recommendations, with final results confirmed by experts and researchers.
A closer look at the list of popular buzzwords recommended by the public also presents a more panoramic view of Chinese people's social psyche over the past year.
Frequently used words such as "say no to mental exhaustion" and "20-minute park life" signify a desire for a relaxed lifestyle amid the quick pace of modern life. Words like "Altay," a prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region made ultra-famous by a critically acclaimed TV drama series, and "ancient architecture tour" reveal the popular travel destinations of Chinese people in 2024.
Among the recommendations, which are mostly in Chinese, the English expression of "China Travel" stands out, mirroring the country's inbound travel boom buoyed by a series of facilitation policies and measures for foreigners.
To welcome international visitors in the post-pandemic era, China has streamlined its visa application process, refined its immigration process to increase efficiency at border-control points, and made its payment services for international travelers more accessible and inclusive, among other efforts.
According to official data, China recorded nearly 29.22 million inbound foreign visits between January and November 2024, up 86.2 percent year on year. Of these, 17.45 million visitors entered the country visa-free, marking a massive 123.3 percent increase from the previous year. Notably, the number of visa-free transit travelers surged by 132.9 percent year on year.
With pride and love, "Beijing Central Axis" is also on the recommendation list as earlier this year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) inscribed the "Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital" on its World Heritage List.
The Central Axis runs north to south through the heart of old Beijing and consists of ancient landmarks such as the Bell and Drum Towers, Wanning Bridge, Jingshan Hill, and the Forbidden City.
"The Beijing Central Axis is an important symbol that highlights the outstanding features of Chinese civilization," said Li Qun, China's deputy minister of culture and tourism, in an interview.
Having been held for 19 consecutive years, this annual event is jointly organized by the National Language Resources Monitoring and Research Center, the Commercial Press, and other institutions. ■
