Ice lanterns bring chills for capital crowds

[Photo provided to China Daily]

"We tried to combine the north lantern from 1,200 kilometers away with the south lantern from 1,600 kilometers away, and present them to the audience in Beijing," Yuan said.

Fifty craftspeople from Zigong were sent to Beijing to make the cloth lanterns for a whole month. Visitors can see a huge bowl, 5 meters in diameter, installed on the stand. It represents the bowl that Beijingers use to eat zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste).

Visitors can also see painted- face figures from Beijing Opera, and also a dragon, on whose back rides a totem pillar and three Chinese characters meaning Chinese dream, which are presented in the form of cloth lanterns.

To make the lantern show perfect, an LED peach-blossom sea was installed on the 6,000-square-meter green field. In the evening, the peach blossoms will light up in a beautiful sea of pink.

The show continues until Feb 13. On Feb 17, Workers Stadium will resume its normal role as a site for athletic events, hosting a playoff of the Asian Football Confederation.