On January 13th, a press conference for the 31st Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival was held in Zigong, Sichuan Province. At the conference, it was introduced that this Festival, with the theme of “Lights Celebrate China: A Myriad of Wonders”, is set to open grandly at Chinese Lantern World in Zigong on January 17th.

The press conference site [Photo by Liao Zhiquan] 

Seven thematic areas were created meticulously for this lantern festival. Here, traditional skills such as silk frame shaping and binding techniques are brilliantly showcased. 12 sets of extra-large lanterns, 7 sets of large lanterns and more than 200 sets of small and medium-sized lanterns complement each other. 

This lantern show integrates intangible cultural heritage techniques, spanning from porcelain making, Sichuan opera, colorful painting to paper-cutting. It also skillfully employs cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence to create AI mechanical dinosaur lantern sets with great care. Meanwhile, popular national comics and mobile game IPs have settled in one after another, bringing visitors an ultimate sensory experience that is interactive, entertaining and trendy.

An aerial view of the site of Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival [Photo by Liao Zhiquan]

The site of Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival [Photo by Liao Zhiquan]

In addition, the “2nd Global Children's Creative Collection Activity for Zigong Lanterns" has also injected pure vitality into the lantern festival. The specially set up section of "Creative Beautiful Lanterns" has transformed the fantastic ideas of children from 26 countries around the world into vivid three-dimensional lanterns.

It is worth noting that this year, the lantern show performance mode in Zigong City has been further upgraded. The performance mode breaks the limitation of single-stage performance and combines diversified forms with the structure of "key performances + point performances" to create a visual feast. At the lantern festival venue, a main-venue exhibition event themed "Lighting Up Chinese Lanterns" for the Snake-year Lantern Festival to welcome the Spring Festival will be held as well, featuring 47 intangible cultural heritage lantern works from 15 provinces and cities across the country.

The site of Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival [Photo by Liao Zhiquan]

In terms of ticketing, this year's lantern festival continues to maintain an affordable price. During the Spring Festival from the first day to the fifteenth day of the lunar month, the adult ticket price is 168 yuan per ticket and the tickets for senior citizens and students are 98 yuan per ticket. From January 18th to January 27th and after February 13th, the listed price will be implemented, with the adult ticket priced at 118 yuan per ticket and the tickets for senior citizens and students priced at 80 yuan per ticket. Moreover, diverse choices such as "hotel-ticket packages", "cultural and creative package tickets" and "scenic area package tickets" are thoughtfully offered. 

During the Spring Festival, Zigong City, with full sincerity, has carefully created high-quality tourism routes, such as "Exploring the Brilliant Lantern City & Dinosaur Hometown" and "Discovering Zigong's Flavor: A City Full of Life & Salt", making every moment of tourists' stay in Zigong full of wonderful experiences and allowing them to enjoy themselves to the fullest.(by Li Kele)