On February 13, the 2026 "Happy Chinese New Year - Year of the Horse Folk Fair" was successfully held at Kamppi Square in Helsinki. The event coincided with the 20th anniversary of the sister-city relationship between Beijing and Helsinki and marked the 20th time that the "Happy Chinese New Year" was celebrated in Finland. The folk fair was organized by the Chinese Finnish Friendship Association and received strong support from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

The venue was festively decorated with lanterns, creating a rich Spring Festival atmosphere. Dragon dances, martial arts, and folk music & dance performances won warm rounds of applause and cheers from the audience. The enticing aromas of Chinese delicacies such as Tanghulu (candied hawthorns on sticks) and Roujiamo (Chinese burgers) filled the air, attracting long queues of visitors. Traditional Chinese intangible cultural heritage displays, including shadow puppetry, Beijing embroidery and Chinese ink rubbing, which combined exhibitions with interactive experiences, proved highly popular among visitors. Over 15,000 visitors, including overseas Chinese, Finns and tourists from various countries, participated in the folk fair. Despite temperature plunging to nearly minus 20 degrees Celsius, visitors enthusiastically embraced the festive spirit, experiencing the warmth and harmony of the Chinese New Year celebration amid snow and ice in the freezing weather.