A member of the production team catches a hairy crab at a crab festival held in Bacheng town, Kunshan city. [Photo from Weibo]

Bacheng, a picturesque water town resting quietly to the northwest of Kunshan city, will share its New Year traditions with people all across the nation during the upcoming Spring Festival.

This is attributed to Happy New Year, a TV program produced by China Central Television (CCTV) which filmed in Bacheng from Dec 16 to 19.

Although the four-day shooting will be edited into an eight-minute short film, the New Year traditions steeped in history and profound culture from the water town will be expressed incisively and vividly.

Guided by a Bacheng native Zhu Yiyun, host Zhu Yang and the production team sampled a variety of unique traditions, such as singing antiphonal songs, having a taste of refreshing morning tea and learning to cook a New Year dinner.

How could they miss the hairy crabs and Kunqu Opera, the cultural symbols of the water town? They were lucky to attend a crab festival, guessing the weight of crabs, voting for the crab king and queen and racing as the fastest to unshell crabs.

This is the 13th time that the program has gathered people together all around the country to celebrate the much-anticipated festival. It will also introduce the folk customs in other regions across China.