The tradition of appreciating beautiful lanterns during Spring Festival celebrations has kept China's lantern workshops busy in the last lunar month in the run-up to the Year of the Snake.
In Zhangzhou City of east China's Fujian Province, a special lantern show was staged on Friday night.
A 100-meter-long golden snake-shaped boat made with 2,025 lanterns sailed on the river, stopping residents and tourists passing by to watch and pray.
Meanwhile, a flyboard rider in gorgeous clothing presented a fire pot performance, a national-level intangible cultural heritage, illuminating the river with sparks.
"The fire pot performance and the lantern show, one dynamic and the other static, are particularly charming in this environment," said Zheng Chenghong, a tourist.
"I'm very excited and happy to watch this performance combining water jet pack and fire pot," said Chen Jinwei, a local resident.
In Hejin City of north China's Shanxi Province, more than 20 craftspeople at a cultural center are busy making rotating lanterns, a national-level intangible cultural heritage.
As the process is very complicated, it usually takes 10 craftspeople a day to make one lantern.
"This is a new work we've created this year. It's called 'all flowers in full bloom.' Despite the small size, the lantern is very hard to make, as it involves a dozen of processes. The papercut fish on the lantern symbolizes a wish for abundance, and the lantern is very beautiful when it whirls," said Li Erpeng, an inheritor of the craftsmanship.
In Taigu District, Jinzhong City of Shanxi, a workshop has used 3D printing technology in lantern production, cutting down on production time from more than 10 days to just one or two days.
The Spring Festival, the most important traditional festival in China, will fall on Jan 29. The year 2025 will mark the Year of the Snake, the sixth animal in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac.
Festive lanterns in hot demand as Chinese New Year nears
