A giant Chinese zodiac dragon lantern was hoisted in the scenic area east of the Zhonghua Gate in Nanjing to be ready for the New Year celebration. Let's go there to take a close look.
The Historical and Cultural Blocks to the east of Zhonghua Gate of Nanjing has designed more than 30 large lantern groups with over a dozen different shapes and expressions ranging from celebrating the New Year with the twelve zodiac signs to bringing good luck to dragons and phoenixes, and from leaping like dragons and tigers to leaping like carp at the Dragon Gate.
More than thirty workers were busy installing a giant dragon lantern under the Ming Dynasty city wall. The entire "dragon" is assembled by splicing four parts that includes the dragon head, body, tail, and claws. The entire "dragon" is 16 meters tall and 22 meters long.
In order to make this "dragon" lantern, dozens of lantern artists worked overtime and kept busy for over a month.
The workers lifted various parts of the dragon lamp with a crane and placed them on a customized large cart. It took the workers 16 hours to transport all the dragon lamp components to the designated location in perfect condition.
“As the most important sub-venue of the Qinhuai Lantern Festival, our lantern setting has always been themed around the Chinese zodiac throughout the years. At the foot of the city wall, we use a lantern group like ‘Dragon Soaring in Prosperity’, which is very domineering and peaceful, bringing New Year's blessings,” said Liu Yang, Deputy General Manager of Nanjing Mendong Historical and Cultural Block Management Co., Ltd.
On New Year's Day and the Spring Festival holiday, the ancient city of Dangar in Huangyuan County of Qinghai Province will join hands with the old Historical and Cultural Blocks to the east of Zhonghua Gate of Nanjing to promote cultural exchange between the two places and offer unique New Year blessings to the people of the two places through Huangyuan Lantern Festival and Qinhuai Lantern Festival.
“The national-level intangible cultural heritage Huangyuan Lantern will also make an exciting debut. From New Year's Day until the Spring Festival, we will also have a New Year's market, and we will also present 11 intangible cultural heritage experience projects in Nanjing so as to allow tourists to experience a strong traditional atmosphere and culture,” said Liu Yang, Deputy General Manager of Nanjing Mendong Historical and Cultural Block Management Co., Ltd.
