Largest-ever lantern fair to light up Beijing

Photo shows a design rendering of a lantern installation featuring a beautiful night view of Lugou Bridge in Fengtai district, Beijing. The installation will be exhibited at a grand lantern fair that is slated to take place in Beijing from Sept. 14 to Oct. 31. (Photo courtesy of the host of the event) 

A grand lantern fair with over 200 sets of creative lanterns of varying sizes is slated to take place in Beijing from Sept. 14 to Oct. 31, as reported by Beijing Daily on Aug. 22.

Set to run from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily at the Beijing Garden Expo Park in the city's Fengtai district, the lantern fair will set new records as Beijing's longest, largest, and most intricate lantern fair ever held, according to an executive of the event's hosting company.

Photo shows a design rendering of a lantern installation featuring the integration of Beijing's traditional cultural and modern technologies. The installation will be exhibited at a grand lantern fair that is slated to take place in Beijing from Sept. 14 to Oct. 31. (Photo courtesy of the host of the event)

The lantern fair will comprise nine main themed zones featuring such themes as festivals, beautiful landscapes, Beijing culture, and colorful childhood.

Among the 200 sets of lanterns to be exhibited, 75 sets will be large and medium-sized lanterns. Overall, a total of 100,000 colorful lantern ornaments will be displayed at the nine zones.

China's national-level intangible cultural heritage, Zigong lantern, which consists of colored lanterns from Zigong city, southwest China's Sichuan Province, will also shine at the lantern fair.

Photo shows a design rendering of a lantern installation featuring Mid-Autumn Festival. The installation will be exhibited at a grand lantern fair that is slated to take place in Beijing from Sept. 14 to Oct. 31. (Photo courtesy of the host of the event) 

With 70 percent of the lanterns tailor-made for Beijing, the event is expected to showcase the essence of Beijing's culture. Drawing inspiration from cultural relics, traditional Chinese paintings, Chinese poetry, and Peking Opera, the fair encompasses a creative integration of the famous Zigong lantern and Beijing culture.

Several groundbreaking lantern installations featuring ingenious designs, unique shapes, and new breakthroughs in creativity and technology will also be displayed at the lantern fair, providing visitors with an unprecedented visual experience.

Photo shows a design rendering of a phoenix-shaped lantern installation to be exhibited at a grand lantern fair that is slated to take place in Beijing from Sept. 14 to Oct. 31. (Photo courtesy of the host of the event) 

A phoenix-shaped lantern installation, for instance, will be the world's first to use a combination of colored blown paper and transparent acrylic materials.

The 10-meter-tall "phoenix" is adorned with 40,000 feathers meticulously hand-cut by over 20 Zigong lantern craftspeople over a two-month period. A 7-meter-long tail feather of the "phoenix" alone required tens of thousands of cuts, and a total of 8 million cuts were made for the entire installation.

In addition, the adoption of mechanical transmission technology for the neck of the "phoenix" will allow this auspicious and colorful "king of birds" to nod and greet the audience.

Photo shows a design rendering of a lantern installation to be exhibited at a grand lantern fair that is slated to take place in Beijing from Sept. 14 to Oct. 31. (Photo courtesy of the host of the event) 

Over 150 distinctive shops will be set up at the venue for the event to offer a wide range of services and products, including products of time-honored brands, intangible cultural heritage-related products, cultural and creative products, as well as a variety of dining options.

More than 20 themed activities will be held during the lantern fair, including song and dance performances, theatrical performances, and cultural activities integrating traditional and modern Chinese culture.

Visitors can also participate in various interactive activities, such as handicraft making with intangible cultural heritage techniques, lantern riddle guessing, and poetry recital activities.

The host has also arranged dedicated transportation routes and shuttle buses, and expanded parking spaces for the event.

Photo shows a design rendering of a lantern installation featuring Beijing Central Axis. The installation will be exhibited at a grand lantern fair that is slated to take place in Beijing from Sept. 14 to Oct. 31. (Photo courtesy of the host of the event)