Chinese light show brings glow to New York
NEW YORK: The LuminoCity Festival, a 6.5ha light exhibit featuring Chinese lantern craft, dazzled visitors with its “Let It Glow Christmas” show at Randall’s Island Park in New York.
The exhibition features lanterns by artisans from Zigong city in Sichuan province.
The Christmas special was the third themed event of the light festival after Cosplay All Day and Hanfusion Night since the show opened on Nov 23 and will go on till Jan 5.
The last special event, “Electric Light Tonight”, will be held on Dec 28.
The festival has over 23 sets of larger-than-life light art with three themes – Winter Fantasy, Wild Adventure and Sweet Dream – and installations such as an Arctic wonderland, rainforests and deserts.
Zigong city has a long history of lantern displays since the Tang Dynasty (between 618-907). “I grew up in Zigong, the epicentre of lantern light festivals, where they host an annual lantern festival that attracts over two million people from around the world,” said Chen Xiaoyi, founder and chief executive officer of LuminoCity.
“Every year I saw incredible light artworks and watched as the lanterns evolved.
“I want people in the United States to be able to experience the majesty I experienced as a child.”
Huang Ping, China’s consul general in New York, encouraged Chen, who studied in the United States, and young people like her to use their imaginations to combine Chinese traditional culture and folk art with local residents’ customs and preferences to bring joy to locals.
The festival hopes to become one of New York City’s annual must-see holiday experiences, according to LuminoCity.