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Lanterns in the shape of "春", a character meaning spring in Chinese, bring untold glory to the shiny proceedings. [Photo/easyday.com] |
The traditional lantern show at Guyi Garden in Nanxiang town, Jiading will be open every night from Feb 3 to 9. It has been six years since the lantern show was last held.
With the Year of the Rat just around the corner, it's no surprise that rats will feature heavily at the event.
A lantern set depicting a newly married rat couple raised many eyebrows, with the rat bride sitting in a sedan and the rat groom valiantly riding a horse beside her.
Lanterns depicting flowers and Chinese characters also added color to the show, particularly a set of lantern in the shape of the character "春", meaning spring in Chinese.
The ticket price is 12 yuan ($1.75) per person, and online reservation via the garden's official WeChat account (sh-guyigarden) is required for entrance on Feb 7, 8 and 9 in order to prevent overcrowding.
Guyi Garden was built during the reign of Emperor Wanli of the Ming Dynasty (1574-1620). Covering an area of nearly 10 hectares, it was one of the most famous gardens in East China in the Ming Dynasty and the largest of the five classic gardens in Shanghai.
The name of the garden was borrowed from the Book of Songs and means beautiful and green bamboo. The Ming-style architecture, couplets and poems, and stone paths lined with flowers characterize the garden.