Published : 2026-02-07
The 2026 Year of the Horse is approaching, with fortune lanterns welcoming the spring.
The night skies of major Chinese cities are once again lit up by the annual New Year lantern festivals.
Myriad lights from countless homes are interwoven into a web, rendering the night sky into a starry canopy of dazzling, flowing colours. Let us enjoy them one by one!
This year's Spring Festival lantern displays have masterfully blended technology and "Guochao" (Chinese-chic) trends with a rich traditional festive atmosphere. Infused with a new spirit, they are now staging a spectacular creative competition.
As the annual centrepiece of Spring Festival lantern celebrations, the Zigong Lantern Festival in Sichuan once again pushes the boundaries of imagination with its technological innovations.
The 32nd Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival, themed "Illuminating China, Building Dreams for the Future", centres around the grand lantern set "The Marvels of China".
Inspired by the mythical Kunpeng from Zhuangzi·Free and Easy Wandering, this installation stretches 210 metres in length and stands 32 metres tall. Visitors can even step inside its "belly" and gaze up at the vast starry sky created by an LED dome overhead.
Another set, titled "The Legend of Mulan", is a 180-metre-long sequential lantern art piece.
With 3D motion capture technology used to depict Mulan’s facial expressions, every glance and smile appears vividly alive—as if the legendary heroine who took her father’s place in the army is telling her story across time and space.
The Shanghai Yuyuan Lantern Festival has expanded for the first time this year, stretching its dazzling display across six zones all the way to the Bund—like a river of light flowing from the historic old town toward the future skyline.
In Nanjing, the winding Ming and Qing dynasty lanes of Laomendong have cloaked the 40th Qinhuai Lantern Festival in splendour. Strolling through it feels like reading a luminous biography of Jinling, flowing with the life and glow of the ancient city—utterly magnificent.
In addition to classic traditional lantern festivals, Hangzhou showcases uniquely crafted lantern displays that evoke the distinctive Chinese aesthetic of artful emptiness.
At Hangzhou's Xixi Wetland, visitors are greeted by a dreamscape akin to the verse "a thousand trees bloom under the night breeze" by poet Xin Qiji.
Lights follow the winding waterways and stone paths, while colourful lanterns adorn the branches, swaying gently—transforming the imagery of ancient poetry into a reality one can wander through.
Over at West Lake, 30 "Year of the Horse Blessing Boats" drift across the water. Each bow is decorated with an exquisite, Song‑style horse lantern, their reflections rippling on the surface to sketch a scene of "boats gliding through a living painting"—capturing a uniquely festive atmosphere.
The Spring Festival lantern celebrations of the Year of the Horse have turned into carefully crafted, light-filled mystery boxes—inviting every visitor to step inside and experience firsthand the romantic festive atmosphere that now spreads across China.
Which one captures your heart?
Read more: Foshan's Fai Chun Street "paints" the colour of Chinese New Year
