Sara tried several different flavors of sweet dumplings. Photo Lyu Weiyi
Event
By Lyu Weiyi
The 15th day of the first lunar month is the Lantern's Day that marks the end of the Spring Festival. During this year's holiday, hundreds of events have been held throughout Hangzhou to celebrate the New Year and welcome the Asian Games. It was also the most boisterous Lantern's Festival in Hangzhou since 2012.
One of the most gorgeous events was the lantern's fair organized by the Shangcheng district. Apart from the lantern riddles area with 800 lanterns and the red lantern wall composed of 300 lanterns, a splendid light show was designed on the building facades of the Qianjiang New City. Additionally, the trees and guardrails along the central axis area of the Civic Square were decorated with various baby's breath flowers, colored lanterns and light strips, reminding visitors of a famous Chinese verse "A thousand trees bloom in the east wind " (东风夜放花千树) by Xin Qiji, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty.
On the evening of February 4, Hangzhoufeel invited Sara, an Iranian girl interested in both Chinese and Western culture, to experience the festival culture.
"It's super yummy! I have never tried this flavor of sweet dumplings before!" Sara tasted several different flavors of sweet dumplings and was particularly impressed by the ones made of fermented glutinous rice and chocolate ones.
The Shangcheng lantern's fair was already ablaze with lights and crowded with visitors at 6:30 p.m. In addition to the popular attractions of the riddles area and the lantern wall, there was also an intangible cultural heritage bazaar with 35 special booths such as Hangzhou embroidery, Chinese dim sum, copper sculpture and palm-fibre weaving techniques.
As an incense booth owner enthusiastically introduced the ancient origin and traditional production process of his incense to Sara, many other attentive visitors and buyers crowded in around them.
The busy lantern's fair also saw numerous children carrying sparkling palace lanterns. "I wish everybody a new year full of joy and peace. For myself, I hope I can get a good grade in the semester!" One of the girls liberally accepted Sara's interview and shared with Sara her New Year wishes.
The lantern festival was an overture and also the best viewing place for the ensuing fireworks over the Qiantang River taking place on Feb 5, the first time in Hangzhou after 11 years. Scan the QR code to learn what Sara has witnessed during the convivial evening!