Palace Museum shines bright for China’s Lantern Festival

The Palace Museum shines bright for the Lantern Festival in Beijing. For the first time in 94 years, the museum opened its doors to the public after dark.

The special two-night event called “Lantern Festival Night in the Forbidden City” kicked off on February 19, attracting thousands of visitors from all walks of life to enjoy a night at the museum with the largest, roundest supermoon of the year.

"In the Chinese lunar calendar, the Lantern Festival marks the first full moon of the year. The festival is a very important folk event with a history of over 2,000 years," said Shan Jixiang, the curator of the Palace Museum. 

"Since putting up lanterns is a folk custom during the festival, it was decided to light up the ancient architectures in the Forbidden City in various ways. Never before has this be done." Shan said. 

According to the museum, more night tours in the Forbidden City are likely to be planned in the future.