Hundreds of traditional lanterns featuring mythical creatures come alive at night at the Yuyuan Garden, a well-known landmark in Shanghai, in celebration of this year's Spring Festival, which fell on January 22 and marked the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit. The lights will stay up throughout this year's Spring Festival holiday (January 21-27).

This is the 28th year the Yuyuan Lantern Festival lights up the dark of winter.

Whereas many Shanghainese already consider a visit to the lantern extravaganza a staple holiday outing, this year's edition has proven even more popular following its debut on Douyin, China's TikTok, and Xiaohongshu, a lifestyle and e-commerce platform, on December 26 last year.

Themed An Adventure Journey of Mountains and Seas, based on the ancient Chinese text Shan Hai Jing, or The Classic of Mountains and Seas, the 2023 Yuyuan Lantern Festival combines China's longstanding lantern-making craft with multimedia and augmented reality technologies.

Its popularity also reflects the optimization of China's COVID-19 control policies, which has seen consumption across the country's cities pick up significantly since the updated measures took effect late last year—especially in the retail, tourism and food and beverage industries. 

(Text and photos by Wei Yao)

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

Comments to weiyao@cicgamericas.com