Festival illuminates Year of the Horse

Diverse collection of lanterns lights path to celebrations as city installs a fusion of tradition, craftsmanship and technology, Wang Xin reports.

As the Chinese New Year approaches, the annual Yuyuan Lantern Festival kicked off in Shanghai on Monday and, for the first time, expands to several other areas near The Bund, featuring a diverse collection of lanterns to mark the upcoming Year of the Horse.

Running through March 3, this year's celebration extends beyond Yuyuan Garden Malls to The Bund Finance Center, Ancient City Park, Middle Fangbang Road, Fuyou Road, and The Bund, which will be lit up on Sunday.

With traditional colorful lanterns blended with technology and fashion art, the illuminated areas will connect the city's major landmarks' past, present, and future and offer visitors a variety of experiences, including sightseeing, interactive activities, shopping, delicacies, and cultural events.

Similar to previous editions, the theme and lantern installations at the festival's core, Yuyuan, are inspired by Shan Hai Jing, or The Classic of Mountains and Seas, a significant source of Chinese mythology dating back over 2,000 years.

Through the masterful fusion of lantern craftsmanship, an intangible cultural heritage, with cutting-edge digital light art, the area presents a visual feast where traditional Chinese culture intertwines with modern technology.

The theme symbolizes life as a vast "wilderness" rather than a fixed "track", encouraging people to bravely explore and courageously pursue their dreams like a galloping horse in an evolving world.

The main installation at Yuyuan's Central Plaza consists of six majestic horses inspired by the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Each delicately incorporates horse elements from the Luoyang Museum's treasured collection, presenting distinct characters and leaping vividly to life amid the shifting play of light and shadow.

At the Gold Plaza stands a three-story-tall revolving lantern featuring a crafted frame of sunmao, mortise-and-tenon joints often used in ancient Chinese architecture that fastens wood pieces together without the use of glue or nails. Blended with modern digital technologies, six meticulously painted pictures cycle through the shifting light and shadow, vividly telling stories of Spring Festival traditions.

The installations at the Jiuqu (zigzagging) Bridge area lead visitors deeper into the mythical universe. Under glowing lights, the lake transforms into an endless sea of stars where the ancient Chinese constellation system, "Twenty-eight Mansions", is scattered. Mythical creature lanterns inspired by Shan Hai Jing are set among the "stars", showcasing the vitality rooted in the wilderness and in everyone's true self.

Francesco De Sciscio, a 30-year-old visitor from Italy, had a layover in Shanghai and immediately decided to join the festival after reading about it on Instagram. Not knowing much about Chinese culture, he was amazed by Yuyuan and hopes to explore the city more and learn about the Chinese New Year.

"This is something completely different and very impressive to see. There is a mix of modern and ancient cultures, traditional architecture, and lights. It's very fascinating, and I'm so happy to be here. If I had more time, it would be awesome to talk to the locals and learn more about the culture," he says.

Since launching in 1995, the lantern festival has become a landmark Spring Festival celebration and was inscribed on the National Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2008.

For Choi Ji-hyun from the Republic of Korea, who has been living in Shanghai for about 30 years, the festival is a must-visit to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Each year, she has witnessed the festival grow in Yuyuan, saying it is always "colorful, prosperous, and lively".

"I love Chinese culture and look forward to the Chinese New Year every year. I especially love the (Spring Festival) atmosphere when family members sit together to eat, talk, and greet each other," says Choi.

The festival is also drawing large crowds of domestic visitors from across the nation, including Shi Yimeng, a 16-year-old high school student from Nanyang, Henan province.

Dressed in a traditional Tang Dynasty costume, Shi is a fan of the country's traditional culture. She and her young friends and classmates love visiting museums and ancient towns, as well as trying Chinese-style refreshments, costumes, hair ornaments, and crafts.

"The lanterns can move and (the flower-shaped ones) can bloom! It's so magical. Our traditional and modern cultures are well-blended here. You would never get bored walking around," says Shi excitedly.

The other five illuminated areas during the festival will share the same theme as Yuyuan but feature different, innovative presentations. For example, The Bund Finance Center will showcase a collaboration with Pop Mart and be decorated with the toymaker's popular IPs.

In addition, diverse traditional games, folklore workshops, cultural parades and performances, and digital interactions will allow visitors to engage in multiple ways.

"The lantern installations at Yuyuan present primarily folk cultures, while the ones in other areas will be more modern and trendy. Combining traditional culture with technology, we hope this year's festival will bring Shanghai residents and tourists from across the world closer to the Chinese New Year," says Hu Junjie, vice-president of Yuyuan Inc.

Notably, this year's festival will further extend the Shanghai-style Chinese New Year vibe nationwide. Lantern installations will also be set up in other cities including Suzhou in Jiangsu province, Ningbo in Zhejiang province, Tianjin municipality, Shenyang in Liaoning province, and Quanzhou in Fujian province.

Contact the writer at wangxin2@chinadaily.com.cn