Learn Hardcore Chinese: zìcóng wǒ láidào zhè gè chéngshì yǐhòu, zhè shì wǒ dìyīcì zài zhèlǐ guò Chūnjié. - Since I came to this city, this is the first time I’ve spent Spring Festival here.

以来 focuses on “from that time up until now”. It more strongly implies an unbroken period continuing to the present.
以后 literally means “after that time”, and can point to the present or to the future, but with 自从 it usually means “from then on (to now)”.

In this sentence, both 以后 and 以来 are acceptable. 以来 sounds slightly more formal/literary; 以后 is more neutral and common in conversation.

Why is it 来到 instead of just 来? What’s the difference?

Both are possible:

我来到这个城市
我来这个城市

来 = “to come”.
到 = “to arrive at / reach (a place)”.
来到 together emphasizes arriving at a place.

Nuance:

来这个城市 is totally fine and very common.
来到这个城市 slightly highlights the arrival/completion of coming to this city, and can sound a bit more complete or careful.

In your sentence, 来到 just makes the action of coming and arriving a bit more explicit; it’s not a big difference in meaning.

Why isn’t there a 了 after 来到 if this happened in the past?

You could say:

自从我来到这个城市以后…
自从我来了这个城市以后…

Both appear in real usage.

Reasons 了 can be omitted here:

The whole 自从…以后 clause already clearly refers to a finished past event (your coming to the city). The time expression itself does some of the work that 了 usually does.
In many “since …” clauses, Chinese often drops 了 because the focus is on the time span from that event until now, not on the event itself.

So 来到 without 了 is very natural in this context and does not make it “present tense”; the time words already anchor it in the past.

Why is there a 个 in 这个城市? Can I say just 这城市?

Standard structure is:

这 + 个 + 城市 = “this city”

Chinese generally needs a measure word between a demonstrative (这 / 那) and a noun:

这个人 (this person)
那本书 (that book)
这座城市 (this city – using 座, a more specific MW for big buildings/cities)

这城市 (no measure word) is colloquial and more common in fast speech or certain styles, but it’s not the safest form to learn first. In textbooks and neutral writing, 这个城市 is preferred.

Why is the sentence 这是我第一次在这里过春节 and not something like 我在这里过春节是第一次?

Both are possible, but they feel different:

这是我第一次在这里过春节。
“This is the first time I (have) spent Spring Festival here.”
Structure: 这 + 是 + 我第一次 + Verb phrase
This is a very natural, common pattern for “this is the first time (I) do X”.
我在这里过春节是第一次。
Grammatically possible, but sounds a bit less natural and slightly awkward in everyday speech.

Chinese strongly likes the “这是我第一次 + Verb…” pattern for expressing first experiences. It’s good to memorize this chunk as-is:

这是我第一次来中国。
这是他第一次见到你。
这是我们第一次一起工作。

What exactly does 过 mean in 过春节?

In 过春节, 过 is a verb meaning “to spend / to pass / to celebrate (a festival or a period of time)”.

Some examples:

过年 – spend/celebrate the New Year
过生日 – have/celebrate a birthday
过周末 – spend the weekend

So 在这里过春节 = “spend/celebrate Spring Festival here”.

Is the 过 in 过春节 the same as the aspect particle 过 like in 去过?

They are related historically, but in grammar they’re different here.

过 as part of the verb phrase:
- 过春节, 过生日, 过周末
- Here 过 is the main verb: “spend/celebrate”.
过 as the experiential aspect particle, after a verb:
- 去过北京 – have (ever) been to Beijing
- 看过这部电影 – have (ever) seen this movie

In 过春节, the pattern is Verb(过) + Object(春节).
If it were the experiential 过, you would see it after a verb:

在这里过过春节 – have (ever) spent Spring Festival here

So in your original sentence, 过 is just “to spend/celebrate”, not the aspect marker.

Why can’t I just say 第一次在这里春节 without 过?

Because 春节 is a noun (“Spring Festival”), and Chinese usually needs a verb to say “spend/celebrate a festival”.

Typical patterns:

过春节 – spend/celebrate Spring Festival
庆祝春节 – celebrate Spring Festival

第一次在这里春节 sounds incomplete or wrong, because it lacks that verb.
So you need 过 (or another suitable verb), making it 第一次在这里过春节.

Why is 在这里 placed before 过春节? Could I say 过在这里春节?

Normal word order for place is:

在 + place + Verb + Object

So:

在这里过春节 = (at this place) + (spend) + (Spring Festival)

You generally cannot insert 在这里 inside the verb–object phrase like:

✗ 过在这里春节 (unnatural / wrong)

Reason: 在 + place is a prepositional phrase modifying the verb phrase as a whole, and the most neutral position is before the verb (or at the very beginning of the clause). So:

我在这里过春节。
在这里，我第一次过春节。 (more marked, but possible)

Keeping 在这里 right before 过春节 is the standard pattern.

Why do we say both 这个城市 and 这里? Couldn’t one of them be enough?

They serve slightly different roles:

这个城市 – “this city” (the place you came to)
这里 – “here” (the place where you are spending Spring Festival)

You could shorten things in context, for example:

自从我来到这里以后，这是我第一次过春节。
(Drop 这个城市, keep 这里.)

自从我来到这个城市以后，这是我第一次过春节。
(Drop 在这里, but then it’s ambiguous: first time in your life? or in that city?)

The original sentence:

自从我来到这个城市以后，这是我第一次在这里过春节。

first defines what “here” is (this city), then clearly states that the “first time” refers to spending Spring Festival in this city, not the first Spring Festival of your life. It’s extra clear and natural in many contexts.

Could the 自从…以后 part come at the end of the sentence instead of the beginning?

You could say:

这是我第一次在这里过春节，自从我来到这个城市以后。

but this sounds less natural. In Chinese, background time clauses like “since I came to this city” are usually placed at the beginning:

自从我来到这个城市以后，这是我第一次在这里过春节。

Putting the “since…” part first sets the time frame and then tells us what is true within that frame. So the original order is the most idiomatic.

How does Chinese show the tense “have come” / “have spent” here, since there are no tense endings?

Chinese doesn’t use verb endings for tense like English. Instead, it relies on:

Time words / phrases:
- 自从…以后 clearly puts the coming to the city in the past.
Aspect markers (like 了, 过) when needed.
- Here, 第一次 and the structure itself show the sense of “have (ever) done”.

So:

自从我来到这个城市以后
= “since I came to this city (and up to now)”
这是我第一次在这里过春节
= “this is my first time (that I have) spent Spring Festival here”

The combination of 自从…以后, 第一次, and context expresses the same idea as English “have come” / “have spent”, even without special verb endings.