How Do Chinese Celebrate Lantern Festival

Today’s Lantern Festival is a perfect combination of tradition and modernity. It is time to eat Tangyuan, admire lanterns, guess lantern riddles and watch art performances. Lantern festival in many cities attracts a great number of visitors. Some people happily walk around with a bright small lantern in hand, making the atmosphere especially festive.

Eating Tangyuan or Yuanxiao: a symbol of reunion and harmony

Tangyuan and Yuanxiao are both soft glutinous rice balls. Tangyuan is very popular in southern China, but in Northern China people like to eat Yuanxiao. These are typical foods symbolizing family reunion and happiness. Read more about the difference between Tangyuan and Yuanxiao.

Admiring Flower Lantern

Delicately crafted lanterns are set up along the street, various shaped lanterns are painted with calligraphy, landscapes, flowers, and birds. The dazzling lantern display is a magnet for countless visitors.

Guessing Lantern Riddles: An Ancient Puzzle Game

Guessing lantern riddles stems from the Song Dynasty, and are also known as “tiger lanterns”, because guessing the right answer is as difficult as killing a tiger. Riddles have different forms, such as puzzles which are word tricks, and puzzles requiring a knowledge of history and classical literature. It is an attractive activity to keep people’s brains ticking over and to keep the festive mood.

Land Boat Dance

The Land boat dance is one of the folk art performances, which imitates sailing boats on the water. The boats are decorated with red silk and colorful lanterns. Normally, one dancer raises a decorated boat around their waist, but sometimes there are four to seven dancers in a big, long boat.

Dragon Dance

The Dragon is the incarnation of luck and prosperity. The Dragon dance is one of the activities with the national characteristics of China, which developed from the dragon totem, the dance with dragon lanterns and the enjoyment of the lantern displays. Vivid dragon lanterns are made of thin bamboo or iron strips, silk, and lamps. Performers show deft and rhythmic movements with fast trotting. The Dragon dance is usually performed on significant traditional festivals. It is an outstanding mark of Chinese culture.

Best Destinations for Lantern Festival Tours in China

The Lantern Festival stands out as one of China’s most visually stunning and immersive traditional festivals. Every year during the festival, appreciating lantern displays and wandering ancient cities after dark rank among visitors’ favorite holiday pastimes. Below are distinctive destinations ideal for a Lantern Festival trip.

Tang Paradise Lantern Festival

Xi’an
The Lantern Festival in Xi’an exudes profound historical charm. Visitors may stroll along the ancient city wall to admire dazzling lantern exhibitions and try on Hanfu traditional costumes. Scenic spots such as Tang Paradise regularly host themed lantern fairs and Tang Dynasty cultural events, offering fully immersive experiences of the glamour of the prosperous Tang era.

Zigong, Sichuan
Known as China’s City of Lanterns, Zigong is world-famous for its large-scale, exquisitely crafted lantern festivals. Travelers can marvel at giant colored lanterns, animal-shaped lantern installations, and light artworks blending traditional culture with modern creativity, while learning about the age-old craft of Chinese lantern-making.

Additionally, Shanghai’s Yu Garden ranks among the top spots for Lantern Festival lantern viewing. Elegant classical garden architecture set off by delicate lanterns creates an authentic festive atmosphere of the Jiangnan region. In Hongcun of Huangshan, visitors can admire Huizhou-style architecture illuminated at night, handcraft traditional fish lanterns, and wander the ancient village lanes carrying their self-made lanterns after dark to experience the unique Huizhou Lantern Festival culture.

Make a Fish Lantern in Hongcun village

Fish Lantern Works

Suzhou
Suzhou’s classical gardens, water towns and heritage culture lend an elegant touch to the Lantern Festival. Visitors can take boat cruises to view the water town’s night scenery, with lantern reflections shimmering across river surfaces. At the Master-of-Nets Garden, guests may appreciate refined Jiangnan garden landscapes, and catch Kunqu Opera performances during selected show times.

Beijing
Beijing is an ideal destination to discover China’s traditional festival culture. During the Lantern Festival, visitors can wander temple fairs, watch folk performances, and join hands-on craft workshops including paper-cutting and lantern making. These activities are especially suitable for family travelers and educational tour groups, allowing participants to gain in-depth knowledge of traditional Chinese festival culture through hands-on engagement.

China Educational Tours designs tailor-made Lantern Festival-themed itineraries for families, school groups and cultural travelers. Our tour arrangements may include lantern crafting workshops, tangyuan tasting sessions, Hanfu costume experiences, folk performance viewings and local festive events. Whether you wish to explore lantern shows in ancient cities, experience traditional handicrafts, or plan a culturally rich journey across China, we can create fully personalized travel plans to suit your needs.

• Chinese Lantern Festival
• How Do Chinese Celebrate
• About Chinese Lanterns
• Differences between Yuanxiao and Tangyuan
• How to Make a Chinese Lantern