Let there be lots of light

Updated: 2014-02-14 08:48

By Wang Wenlan and Zou Hong (China Daily Europe)

  Comments() Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按钮 0

 Let there be lots of light

Visitors' ear-to-ear smiles match perfectly with the splendid colors and lights at the Zigong lantern festival. Wang Wenlan / China Daily

More than a dozen gardens spring to life with color and festivity at the Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival. Wang Wenlan and Zou Hong capture the scene in Zigong, Sichuan province.

The Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival is continuing in Zigong, Southwest China's Sichuan province. This festival comprises 119 large and medium-sized lantern installations in 14 gardens. The Zigong lantern festival has been held since the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The remote city is the originator of Chinese lantern festivals and is called "Lantern Town in the South Kingdom". The lanterns become more and more elaborate each year and promote tourism in the city.

 Let there be lots of light

The three-month-long lantern festival, which will last until early March, is a joint effort by more than 300 companies and 50,000 workers. Each night it attracts thousands of visitors. Zou Hong / China Daily

 Let there be lots of light

A successful attempt to fuse lantern techniques with the art of Sichuan Opera shows the delicacy of the opera's face painting. Zou Hong / China Daily

 Let there be lots of light

The fusion of lights, pond and smoke creates a fairytale water-painting landscape with a bridge that leads visitors deep into the scene. Wang Wenlan / China Daily

 Let there be lots of light

A lantern with carp crossing the dragon gate has the auspicious meaning of achieving high rank and reaching a destination. Zou Hong / China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 02/14/2014 page4)