Lantern show illuminates Beijing with traditional, innovative elements

A spectacular lantern show at Wenyu River Park has added to festive vibes in Beijing as the city now enters a joyous period of celebrations for both New Year's Day and the upcoming Spring Festival.

Spanning 40 hectares, the 2025 Beijing Megalights Wonderland features more than 1,000 illuminated installations across eight themed areas, offering visitors a feast for the senses and plenty of surprises around every corner.

From traditional Chinese motifs to playful characters, the dazzling display seamlessly blends cutting-edge technology with time-honored customs.

In Chinese culture, lanterns symbolize light, happiness, and the dispelling of bad luck. At this park on the city's outskirts, over 1,000 stunning lantern artworks are on display, ranging from intricate designs to towering, eye-catching structures.

Visitors are transported into a dreamlike world of divine beasts, fairylands, and traditional Chinese architecture, with each scene drawing inspiration from famous stories and myths. "I think it's really great. The atmosphere is wonderful, very suitable for a family outing," said a female visitor.

"Visiting the lantern show at the beginning of the New Year, I wish our motherland prosperity and strength," said another visitor.

The show is particularly popular with families, especially those with young children.

"We hope our child can gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture. She also really likes wearing traditional Hanfu clothing," one parent shared.

Thanks to modern technologies like holographic projection, visitors can embark on an immersive journey from ancient China to space and beyond.

The lanterns on display are handcrafted in Zigong, a city in southwest China's Sichuan Province, renowned for its lantern-making tradition -- a recognized form of intangible cultural heritage.

"These lanterns are all welded by hand. For example, this large-scale Wukong lantern has over 10,000 welding points. We can also program the light strips to achieve the effect of changing lights, making it more futuristic," said Shu Xin, project manager of Beijing Shiguang Tourism.

As the winter festivities continue, the lantern show remains a hit across the country and is set to run until March.

Lantern show illuminates Beijing with traditional, innovative elements

Major U.S. stock index futures plummeted in after-hours trading on Wednesday following President Donald Trump's announcement of the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on trade partners.

As of 18:35 Eastern Time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures had dropped 2.43 percent, the S and P 500 futures were down 3.6 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite futures had slumped 4.35 percent.

Meanwhile, crude oil futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell more than 2.5 percent in after-hours trading.

Amid widespread opposition, Trump announced in the White House on Wednesday that he is imposing the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on trading partners.

Displaying a chart illustrating "reciprocal tariffs," Trump announced that the United States has established a "minimum baseline tariff" of 10 percent on practically all imported goods, plus even higher rates on certain trading partners, including China, the European Union, Vietnam, Japan, India, South Korea and Thailand.

Despite Trump's claim that higher tariffs will help bring in revenue for the government and revitalize U.S. manufacturing, economists have warned that such measures will push up prices for U.S. consumers and businesses, disrupt global trade, and hurt global economy.

US stock index futures slump following reciprocal tariffs announcement