Lanterns adorned with ancient poems, lights in the sky, colorful decorations, bright smiles, ever-growing crowds; this is the lantern festival in Shanghai’s Yu Gardens. Every year I keep going back simply to be with the joy of this special happening, celebrating the start of Chinese spring under a big full moon. How dull would life be without ceremony…
lanterns in the night
It has been an amazing year full of wonderful experiences, learning and great new friends in photography and in life. As my project came to a close I realized slowly what the next step needs to be. A deepening into past experiences and a harvesting of those special times in a fresh new way through photography, images and a bit of storytelling.
“365 from the archive~a deepening journey” will begin in two days and it starts where it all started with me as far as I remember, my home country, Lebanon.
Until then! Stay well and enjoy the wonderful lanterns that adorn the old streets of Shanghai for the coming of the Spring Festival!
prayers in lanterns
dazzled...
Today the Chinese New Year festivities come to an end with a big boom! It is the Lantern Festival’s main celebration. I went to Yu Yuan (Yu Gardens) in Puxi to witness the festivities and now as I write this, the sky is on fire with millions of fireworks that are going off all over Shanghai and most probably China to mark the important day. The louder the fireworks, the better the new year, or so it is believed.
This lady in Yu Gardens was so dazzled with the lights of the lanterns that filled the streets as she looked on filled with joy. This is one day where almost everyone is smiling around here.
lantern festival candy art
It is the time for the lantern festival (Yuan Xiao) that falls 15 days after the Chinese New Year. In preparation, Chinese people hold different festivities around the place from dances, theaters, lantern watching, lantern flying, the eating of special rice dumplings that look like moons (tangyuan), and different sugar candies. The one above is spun sugar in the shape of a butterfly that I saw a boy eagerly waiting to buy today.
