A Modern Merger

ai Xin, a college student in Jiangxi Province, now rarely visits relatives and friends with her parents during the Spring Festival. Instead, having glamorous shots taken at a studio has become one of her new ways to spend the most important festival of the year. She starts losing weight a month prior to the holiday so she can look better in the photos. Most of them feature a red background, as the color symbolizes good luck for the Chinese. She puts the framed photos by her bed for the coming year. Lai also has other special rituals for the festival, such as creating emojis