Pingyao's Lantern Festival

To continue the festive atmosphere of the Spring Festival, the Ancient city of Pingyao, Shanxi province, had a variety of games to celebrate the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the lunar New Year, on Mar 5 this year, with red lanterns, paper cuttings, and window decorations on the antique lanes, which are essential for a traditional Chinese festival.

Though the lantern show was canceled this year, tourists had a good time in the local fairs, wandering along the old city walls, touring the town and other historical sites while participating in the folk activities, such as lantern riddles, with a local newspaper museum holding a riddle solving contest which attracted many visitors.

There are a variety of lanterns on exhibit at the lantern museum, shaped like the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac and human figures, attracting many visitors to take photos with them.

Jiuyun Cultural Park in Pingyao values the lantern riddles, a Han tradition, and has been organizing such activities since the first day of the lunar New Year. Wu Wenxiu, one of the organizers of the event, said the riddles cover a wide range of subjects, such as literature, history, geography and science. Parents who brought their children to participate in the activity said it really inspired the kids' thinking and broadened their minds. This year 1,500 riddles were set by the organizers and 800 were solved by the visitors, who also won prizes.