PARIS, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The lantern festival at Yu Garden was unveiled in the Paris Style Garden.
Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhang Baihui Qiao Benxiao.
At 8 p.m. local time on the 13th, as the audience shouted in Chinese and French that the ten-second countdown was over, the "Mountains and Seas Have Spirits" French Yuyuan Lantern Festival opened in the Paris Style Garden, and 60 large light groups and more than 2,000 colored lanterns from China were lit at the same time.
2024 is the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France and the Sino-French Year of Culture and Tourism, and the French Yu Garden Lantern Festival, as one of the high-quality cultural exchange activities between China and France in 2024, will be open to the public from December 15 to February 25, 2024. This is also the first trip to the sea of the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Yu Garden Lantern Festival.
The lantern festival includes the "East and West Rhyme", "Mountains and Seas with Spirits" lantern group exhibition area and the "Fireworks Market" snack street, as well as folk music, martial arts, acrobatics and other performances.
In the "East and West Rhyme" exhibition area, guqin and French horn concerto, Go and chess games, brushes and goose quills calligraphy, Chinese painting and oil painting contrast, wine bottles and wine glasses invited, fragrant tea and coffee together. These lantern groups use the contrast between China and the West to make it easier for Westerners to understand the "piano, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine and tea" in the aesthetics of oriental life.
The "Nine Songs Scenic Spot" lantern group creates the Jiuqu Bridge and the Lake Center Pavilion in Shanghai's Yu Garden, and other Chinese classical buildings, and the crystal clear lotus lanterns are dotted in the meantime. "It's like a wonderland!A French lady lamented, "I would recommend my family here for Christmas." I also want to see China for myself. ”
In the highlight of the Lantern Festival, the "Mountains and Seas Have Spirits" exhibition area, the images of mythical beasts in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" such as Kun, Yinglong, and Wen Ray are strange and ready to come out, making the audience feel as if they are in the mysterious and fantastic world of oriental mythology. 2024 is also the Year of the Dragon in the Chinese lunar calendar, and the zodiac "dragon" has become one of the protagonists of this lantern festival, with colorful lanterns such as flying dragons, coiling dragons, and double dragons playing with pearls come to life and are dazzling.
Marie Lou, a French high school student, admires Chinese lanterns for the first time. She said that when she thinks of China, the first thing that comes to mind is pandas and dragons. "In the past, I only knew that dragons were myths and legends that breathed fire, but today when I looked at the lanterns, I found that its image is diverse and amiable. After speaking, she showed the reporter the dragon-shaped pattern printed by herself at the on-site printmaking booth, and said that she would take a "little dragon" home.
According to reports, the Paris Style Garden, which has a history of more than 100 years, is one of the popular local entertainment venues, and there was once a roller coaster with the image of the "Chinese Dragon" that has been in operation for decades, which has just been discontinued this year. "Now, the 'Chinese Dragon' is back. Marc-Antoine Jamet, director of the Paris Style Garden and secretary general of the Louis Vuitton Group, excitedly told reporters, "Appreciating the symbols of Chinese culture in the ancient French cultural garden is a 'perfect marriage' ......."The two appreciate because they know and love each other because they appreciate. ”
Sino-French exchanges do not take mountains and seas as far away. "China is diverse, beautiful and worth seeing for all French people. Yamei said that now that China is trying out a visa-free policy for France and other countries, "I may go 50 more times."