With thousands of variously-shaped lanterns lighting up, Zigong City, Sichuan Province, kicked off its annual Spring Festival Lantern Fair on the evening of January 17, 2023.

Long history of Zigong Lantern Fair

As early as in the Tang (618–907) and Song (960–1279) Dynasties, people in Zigong had the tradition of making and enjoying lanterns during the Chinese New Year. In the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1616–1911) Dynasties, various lantern festivals took shape. In the mid-Qing Dynasty, people had lantern celebrations imbued with local customs and culture. 

Compared with the previous lantern shows, the Zigong Lantern Fair highlights technology and novelty, exquisiteness and meticulousness with Chinese tradition. In 1964, Zigong hosted the first Spring Festival Lantern Fair after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Since then, the lantern fair has grown in scale with finer craftsmanship, more designs, and crossover and three-dimensional layout, featuring grand spectacle, unique design, exquisite production, rich colors and dazzling radiance. Up to now, Zigong has successfully held seven Spring Festival Lantern Fairs and 29 Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival & Trade Fairs (started in 1987).

The lantern show The Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River at the Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival & Trade Fair. [Photo by Liao Zhiquan]