Chinese lantern festival lights up for Lunar New Year

(Fixes style of dateline)

ZIGONG, ⁠China, Jan ⁠24 (Reuters) - ‍In southwest China’s Sichuan province, the annual Zigong International Lantern Festival kicked off on Friday, showcasing ‍the centuries-old art of illuminated lanterns on a grand ​scale.

This year’s Lunar New Year falls on February 17, marking the ​start of the Year of the Horse in the Chinese zodiac. Lanterns are a traditional feature of Lunar New Year celebrations in China, ​symbolising good fortune and guidance.

On opening night, crowds gathered to view more than 200 handmade lanterns depicting animals, ​mythological figures and scenes from ancient China.

“When I was a child, my parents ‌took me to the Zigong Lantern Festival almost every year,” said Huang Ye, 32. “For us Zigong ​natives, the lantern festival is simply ⁠part and parcel of our Lunar New Year celebrations. Now, I bring my child to ‌see the lanterns.”

Organisers said it took about 1,200 workers several weeks to produce the lanterns, some of which stretch for hundreds of ‌metres.

One 210-metre-long display, titled “Magical China,” was inspired by an ancient legend ‌and featured a giant mythical bird-fish hybrid known as Kunpeng.

Another, themed on the “Legend of Mulan” and extending for 180 m (591 feet), depicted the story ‍of the female warrior and included a herd of galloping horses, a reference to this year’s ⁠zodiac animal.

Lanterns at the festival were made using a variety of materials, including straw, chillies and recycled medicine bottles.

(Reporting by Xihao Jiang and Maxim Shemetov in Zigong; Writing by Casey Hall; Editing by Kate Mayberry)

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