We have no idea if many Chinese people feel this way, but for us Spring Festival was a lot like Christmas – fun while it lasted, but thank God it’s over. Yes, there’s a great sense of excitement in the days leading up to it. Yes, there’s a fantastic celebration on the eve of the holiday, but just when you’ve had enough and everything seems perfect, the party keeps on going . . . and going . . . and going.
And maybe that’s why the Chinese New Year holiday period closes with its own special celebration, the Lantern Festival. After two weeks of closed shops, ATMs that had run out of cash, and 21 hours of fireworks - from 5 am to 2 am - every day, we certainly felt the passing of New Year to be an event worth celebrating.
Lantern Festival fireworks above Hequ, Shanxi province
We happened to be in Shenmu, Shaanxi, for the start of this year’s Lantern Festival. We arrived a few days before opening, in time to see the lanterns being set up. This was an elaborate process that took a few days, with dragons, horses, fish and miniature replicas of famous Beijing sites being recreated on the spot. This all seemed to be part of the festivities – while the artists and craftsmen put up scaffolding, arranged the lighting and assembled the lanterns, vendors sold kites and food and families got to hang out in the town square and socialise.
Constructing a giant Chinese lantern
The offerings at the kite vendor’s
Only three years old and he’s already driving on the sidewalk!
How the dragon got its scales
Strictly speaking, the Lantern Festival is held on the 15th day of the first lunar month in the calendar, but in many larger Chinese towns, elaborate lantern displays are lit for public viewing about a week before the actual festival. We’ve actually seen a few of these festivals now, and while the lanterns are always pretty, we especially liked the Shenmu festival, which focused more than most on traditional Chinese themes.
A porcine entrance to the festival
A replica of Beijing’s Temple of Heaven
The Gate of Heavenly Peace
And a good old-fashioned dragon
Well done, those photos certinly tell the tale but I am surprised at just how elaborate and huge these laterns are…
what a colourful time and in great contrast to your next posting about the wall…which looks lonely, deserted and rather monochromatic by contrast…
both really good information…lol
ps Do you know how far one ‘li’ is in imperial or metric?