The Lantern Festival is an ancient Chinese folk culture. During this year's Spring Festival, the Chinese style with dragon elements as the core has become an indispensable part of the lantern festivals in various places, and a visual feast has lit up the cultural tourism markets in various places.
The dragon element leads the Chinese New Year Lantern Festival.
In the Tianjin Water Park, 9 lantern groups and more than 5,000 lanterns are lit up in turn, and the nine themes of the lantern festival are connected with dragon elements, and myths and legends such as Jingwei reclamation and carp jumping over the dragon gate are also cleverly integrated.
In Jinan Baotu Spring Park, as a local traditional folk activity for more than 40 years, this year's Baotu Spring Festival Lantern Festival will be dragon elements, spring culture, ancient poems, traditional palace lanterns, Fu character lanterns and other folk traditional cultural elements cleverly integrated into the creation of the lantern festival, and the use of modern lighting and mechanical technology, so that tourists can feel the profundity of Chinese culture in the new trend.
Nie Jing, spokesperson of Jinan Tianxia First Spring Scenic Area: This year, in the design process of the lantern group, we have incorporated a large number of "national tide" elements to reflect the "Chinese style".
Feng Yu, a tourist from Beijing: I think it is particularly meaningful, Chinese traditional culture is broad and profound, and we should inherit and carry forward Chinese traditional culture.
According to incomplete statistics, during the Spring Festival this year, nearly 200 lantern festivals were held in more than 80 cities across the country, and the organizers of the lantern festivals in many places said that the number of tourists and related income of this year's lantern festivals has increased significantly, and many places have begun to prepare for this year's National Day Mid-Autumn Festival and other festivals.
CCTV reporter Zhang Daofeng: From the iterative update of lantern technology to the constantly rising Chinese style "trend" scenes, the lantern festivals in various parts of this year's Spring Festival reflect the innovative interpretation of traditional culture, and the vitality of Chinese traditional culture has become a new driving force for economic growth.
Chinese lanterns light up more than 80 cities overseas.
Convey the beauty of culture.
Not only in China, but also in China, the Chinese Lantern Festival has long been well-known all over the world, creating international brands such as the "China Lantern Festival". During this year's Spring Festival, the Chinese-style lantern festival blends with overseas cultures and is widely loved by overseas tourists.
In Montauban, France, the Chinese Lantern Festival has been held in the city's botanical garden for two consecutive years. More than 40 groups of giant lanterns organically integrate the unique handicraft skills of Chinese lanterns with modern light sources, which not only presents the visual beauty of lantern art, but also shows the unique charm of Chinese culture.
In the Netherlands, the Bixelbergen Wildlife Park tried to hold a lantern festival in the park for the first time this year, creating a "light and shadow safari" with Chinese lanterns.
Josephine Bull, Project Manager, Bergen Safari Park, Bixel, Netherlands: We have set up a circular route of almost 2 kilometers in the park, and people can see 12 different color themes, different themes and animals to make visitors linger.
Josephine told reporters that this year is the first time they have tried to hold a lantern festival in the zoo, and at present, the number of people watching the lantern festival has exceeded 100,000 people, and this lantern festival will become a permanent project of the zoo in the future.
Dutch Tourist Wilhelm: Normally it's a zoo, but now it's like a miracle with these Chinese lanterns, and it's very pleasant.
Dutch tourist Diano: It's very beautiful, I love these different colors, I saw the lanterns for the first time.
Sabrina, Belgian tourist: We have always loved this kind of lantern festival, and we came from Belgium to the Netherlands to see the lantern festival.
According to reports, this year's overseas lantern festival activities in China will run throughout the year, and it is expected that more than 80 cities in more than 20 countries around the world will hold lantern festivals, and the number of visitors will reach 30 million.
Who is lighting up the Chinese New Year Lantern Festival at home and abroad?
Whether it is at the scene of the lantern festival at home or overseas, the reporter found an interesting thing: most of the lantern craftsmen who make the lantern festival have the same accent and come from the same place. What is this?
Lantern craftsman: I am from Zigong, Sichuan, and our job is to be an artist, and what I am spraying is a few small goldfish. When it comes to the Spring Festival, it is very busy, especially this year, there are many lists.
Lantern craftsman: We are from Zigong, Sichuan, the famous "Southern Lamp City", this Spring Festival we are in Jinan, Shandong Baotu Spring Lantern Festival.
Lantern Craftsman: Now I'm in Montauban, France, from Zigong, Sichuan. I've been in this industry for about 15 years, I've been to the UK, I've been to the US.
Lantern craftsman: We are from Zigong, Sichuan, and we are now doing a lantern festival in the Netherlands.
According to reports, there are more than 1,000 lanterns and associated enterprises in Zigong City, and there will be more than 160 lantern festivals hosted by Zigong in China during the Spring Festival this year, and more than 100 lantern festivals will be hosted overseas in 2024.
Shen Hongyue, President of Zigong Lantern Industry Association: At present, Zigong lanterns occupy 85% of the market share in China, and in the world, almost all of them are Zigong lanterns in providing this comprehensive service.
Zigong lanterns shine the world.
It can be said that Sichuan Zigong is the base camp of the Chinese Lantern Festival, and the Zigong lantern is a national intangible cultural heritage, and is also known as "the first lamp in the world". Why can Zigong lanterns shine in the world?
When the reporter came to the largest lantern assembly workshop in Zigong, the factory where more than 200 people usually produce lanterns was empty. The person in charge of the enterprise told reporters that no one gave workers a holiday because of the Spring Festival.
Sun Gang, President of Zigong Haitian Culture Co., Ltd. Design Institute: Basically all the workers are scattered all over the country and even the world, like dandelions, scattered all over the place, at the lantern festival site, to create a festive atmosphere for the people.
Why are Zigong lanterns so "hot"? In the view of lantern makers, the production of Zigong lanterns includes artistic creativity, artistic modeling, art processing, welders, electricians, builders, etc., which belongs to a comprehensive production process. However, in the process of inheritance for decades, "integrity and innovation" is the key to maintaining the vigor and vitality of Zigong lanterns.
Shen Hongyue, President of Zigong Lantern Industry Association: Integrity is to retain the cultural attributes and non-material cultural characteristics of our lantern reunion.
Take this year's Spring Festival Lantern Festival as an example, in addition to traditional production materials such as steel wire, wood, and cloth, Zigong creatively uses discarded bottles and CDs as lamp-making materials; At the same time, we will accelerate the organic integration of digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G, and AR with lanterns to make them more flexible.
Sun Gang, President of Zigong Haitian Culture Co., Ltd. Design Institute: In the whole inheritance process, there are many old craftsmen and artists who use the most advanced processes, products and materials in their era. Zigong lanterns have always been combined with the latest things in this era, the country or the world.
Zigong lanterns continue to be inherited in innovation, during the interview in Zigong, the reporter met a lantern craftsman Huang Mingshu who has been doing the lantern festival for more than 30 years, he has not only accepted a number of "foreign apprentices" over the years, and now his son has also provoked the beam. During the Spring Festival this year, he enjoyed a rare "leisure time" for the first time.
Lantern craftsman Huang Mingshu: In the past, I rarely celebrated the New Year at home, but from this year, my son will celebrate the New Year outside to do the lantern festival.
Nowadays in Zigong, a large number of college graduates join the lantern industry every year, and the participation of young people continues to inject innovative vitality into Zigong lanterns. As a national intangible cultural heritage, Zigong has become one of the first 13 "national cultural export bases" in the country by virtue of its obvious advantages in the lantern industry.
Shen Hongyue, President of Zigong Lantern Industry Association: So far, we have a total of 100,000 people engaged in the lantern industry in Zigong, with an annual output value of 6 billion yuan, and more than 50 million US dollars in foreign exchange in the world in 2023, an increase of about 20% over the previous year.