Museums showcase Chinese New Year traditions

Spreads the melodies of a flute, shines the full light of the moon,

Underneath, fish and dragon lanterns dance through the night.

...

All at once, I turned,

There she is, where the lantern light is dimly shed.

These lines from Qing Yu An, the celebrated work of 12th century poet Xin Qiji, have been cherished for centuries as a tribute to pure love. They also vividly bring to life the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar.

Such is the popularity of the festival that, even in today's digital age, lantern fairs have the power to draw people out of their homes to enjoy the festive atmosphere and indulge in real-life interactions.

To celebrate this enduring tradition and light up the capital's nightlife ahead of the Year of the Horse, which begins on Feb 17, the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum on Beijing's Central Axis has unveiled its third annual fair featuring colossal colored lanterns, both outside and inside its main building. The lanterns will be on display through March 3.

Wang Chenyang, Party secretary of the Chinese Traditional Culture Museum, said that lantern fairs, often large and officially organized, have been an inseparable part of Chinese New Year celebrations for centuries. Historical records show that as early as the Southern Dynasty (420-589), the imperial capital of Nanjing hosted Lantern Festival fairs, believed to be the earliest of their kind.