Lantern Festival lights up gardens

LANTERN shows and the guessing of lantern riddles will take place at parks and tourist attractions to celebrate Lantern Festival, which falls on February 19 this year.

Colorful lanterns illuminate Yuyuan Garden in Huangpu District where 39 installations, including a 9-meter-tall pig dressed like the god of wealth, mark the Year of the Pig.

To ensure order and safety, the garden will be closed at certain times from tomorrow until February 19, and only ticket holders will be allowed entry. Ticket prices range from 30 yuan (US$6.8) to 80 yuan for those days.

There will be three entrances on Yuyuanxin Road, Bailing Road, and near Shanghai Classical Hotel and Tonghanchuntang drugstore.

Only ticket holders will be admitted from 4pm tomorrow and February 18, and from 2pm on the other three days.

Another lantern show will be staged in Luodian, Baoshan District on February 19.

Luodian’s colorful lanterns are an intangible cultural heritage of Shanghai. Performances will also be held.

At Guyi Garden in Jiading District, a DIY event will be held on Sunday, allowing children to enjoy the fun of making their own lanterns.

Traditional cultural activities such as riddling will also be held.

A garden party at Chenshan Botanical Garden in Songjiang District on Sunday will feature a number of games and a search for plants related to the Year of the Pig.

Families with children are invited to savor something new, adding to the charm of the festival, and learn something about different plants via the games. Prizes will be given to everyone who succeeds in accomplishing the tasks.

Xincheng Central Park in Minhang District will host a lantern show from February 17 to 24.

At Huilongtan Park in Jiading, paper cutting, shadow plays and straw weaving will be on show on February 18 and 19.

Fangta Park in Songjiang plans to give visitors 1,000 bowls of tangyuan, a traditional snack made from glutinous rice balls with sweet sesame paste or salty pork filling, on the day of the festival.