Craftsmen take part in a competition to make yuanxiao sticky rice dumplings in Taiyuan's Daotian Park. [Photo by Wu Liuhong for China Daily]

Festivities highlight Shanxi's heritage and welcome in good fortune for 2023

Lantern Festival, which fell on Feb 5 this year, marks the end of the Spring Festival celebrations and the beginning of farming activities for the year in China.

In the North China province of Shanxi, residents in various areas held a variety of events to wrap up the grandest festival of the year and express their expectations for a bumper harvest and good fortune for the coming year.

Qingxu county, which is a part of the provincial capital city of Taiyuan, saw performances by 4,000-plus artists on Feb 5-6. The artists from 18 performing groups presented such art forms as stilt walking, dragon and lion dances, wrestling, local operas, drum and gong performances, as well as a float parade.

The highlight of the gala in Qingxu was a 40-minute fireworks show held along the western coast of East Lake, which drew thousands of residents to watch.

During the celebration, local residents and officials expressed their best wishes for this year.

At the opening of the celebrations, an official of the county said Qingxu aims to be included on the list of the top 100 counties in China's central regions in the coming years. He said the target should be realized through improving the efficiency of its agricultural industry, consolidating its advantageous manufacturing sectors, forging stronger commercial sectors and balancing the development of rural and urban areas.

The official added that the local government will also dedicate efforts to attracting more investment projects, exploring new models of commerce, enhancing the construction of cultural facilities and offering better services to both businesses and residents.

In Taiyuan city, a Lantern Festival celebration was held in Daotian Park on Feb 5. This was a wrap-up of a series of celebratory events that started before Spring Festival.

Daotian literally means rice field and the selection of the park as the venue of the celebration was intended to show the festival's association with local farming culture.

A food festival in the park allowed visitors to taste the varieties of food made with local farm produce.

A highlight of the food festival is the contest for making yuanxiao sticky rice dumplings.

Yuanxiao, the signature food for Lantern Festival, is made by rolling stuffing into bigger rice balls in a basket. During the event, visitors watched the yuanxiao-producing skills of local craftsmen and tried to make the snack by themselves.

Taiyuan is said to be one of the locales where the earliest yuanxiao in China were made. The local food variety features sticky rice balls with the osmanthus flower as stuffing.

In Gujiao, a city in the jurisdiction of Taiyuan, there were both traditional and modern art forms for the Lantern Festival celebration. These included guessing riddles on lanterns, making handicraft items on the streets, performing dragon and lion dances, land-boating and drumming, as well as shows of photography, movies and modern dances.

In the county of Shanyin in Shuozhou city, the Lantern Festival celebratory gala opened on Feb 5 with a grand Weifeng Luogu show. Weifeng Luogu, which literally means "awe-inspiring gong and drum", is a traditional percussion performance in Shanxi province involving such instruments as gongs, drums and cymbals. In Shanyin, Weifeng Luogu performance is usually presented as a contest among teams. It is widely used in weddings and traditional festivities to bring good fortune.

Similar Weifeng Luogu shows were also held in the city of Linfen on Feb 5. The shows were performed by farmers from Tunli township, seniors from Jindian township and other local artists.

The show that secured the loudest applause was one performed by about 100 students from a primary school in Jiade township. The students' show was a combination of a percussion performance and a rabbit-themed dance. This year is the Year of the Rabbit in China.

Li Shu contributed to this story.