Beijing staged a lantern show at the Wenyu River Park on Saturday to celebrate the upcoming New Year, the Spring Festival or Chinese Lunar New Year, and the Lantern Festival.
Over a thousand sets of stunning lanterns, blending fashion and technology, have created a dazzling and colorful spectacle, making it a new destination for evening strolls in the city.
This year's show has expanded to eight exhibition sections in a total of 40 hectares.
Drawing inspiration from traditional culture in astronomy, architecture, calligraphy and paintings, as well as mythology, the show creates a fresh and captivating lantern viewing experience.
"I didn't expect it to incorporate so many elements with so many lanterns. The AI-powered lanterns were particularly interesting," said Wang Luhan, a visitor.
"This display is truly impressive. It really brings out the festive spirit," said Xu Jialei, another visitor.
The lantern show will run until March 9, 2025, offering a continuous joyful atmosphere through the New Year, the Spring Festival which falls on January 29 and the Lantern Festival on February 12.
A special event will also be held at the park on the night of December 31 to ring in the New Year.
Beijing launches lantern show to celebrate upcoming festivals
The China-Maldives Free Trade Agreement (FTA) took effect on Wednesday, the first day of 2025, with more than 95 percent of products traded between the two countries exempted from tariffs.
In east China's Shandong Province, one of the country's major exporters to the Maldives, a local electronics manufacturer expects its exports to the country to rise by 20 percent under the agreement.
"The agreement will improve our products' export competitiveness. We are now in negotiations with our Maldivian clients for further cooperation to expand our export scale. With tariff reductions and exemptions under the FTA, we anticipate a growth of approximately 20 percent in our exports throughout 2025," said Zhao Zhengcong, chief engineer of the company.
The agreement will benefit a wide range of products traded between the two countries including ship, steel, furniture, ceramics, vegetables and fruits from China, and seafood, nuts, wooden ornaments from the Maldives.
"After the China-Maldives FTA takes effect, over 70 percent of the tax items from the Maldives will be exempted from tariffs. Shandong's major beneficiary industries include plastic products, steel products, and automotive parts. Preliminary calculation suggests that in the first year after the agreement come into effect, Shandong enterprises will save approximately 8 million yuan in tariff cuts and exemptions from exports to the Maldives," said Bi Haijun, director of the tariff department of Qingdao Customs in Shandong.
China-Maldives free trade agreement takes effect
