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

China's sharp countermeasures against U.S. "reciprocal tariffs" demonstrate the country's zero tolerance towards actions that undermine the global multilateral trading system, according to an expert.

Amid widespread opposition, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs", imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" on all imported goods and higher rates on certain trading partners. The order took effect from Saturday.

For China, it faces a 34-percent tariff from the United States. That was on top of the existing tariff of 20 percent.

Following the U.S. decision to impose "reciprocal tariffs" on Chinese exports to the United States, China's Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council said Friday that the move taken by the U.S. does not conform to international trade rules, seriously undermines China's legitimate rights and interests, and represents a typical act of unilateral bullying.

It also announced that China will impose additional 34-percent tariffs on all products imported from the United States starting from April 10.

Wang Yaojing, assistant professor of economics with Peking University, pointed out that China's countermeasures shows its clear stance in opposing unilateralism and protectionism.

"China's countermeasures clearly demonstrate zero tolerance against actions that seek to undermine the global multilateral trading ecosystem. These harmful moves have far-reaching consequences for the global economy. And China's countermeasures are both well-prepared and timely," Wang emphasized.

China’s countermeasures show zero tolerance towards US unilateralism, protectionism: expert