On the evening of Dec. 9th, a lantern show, co-organized by Gulian Chinese Culture Society and ZERO Comic Society, was held on Junqiao Bridge over Yuehu Lake, with an intention to carry forward Chinese traditional culture and deepen college students’ understanding of it. As the moon climbed, dozens of lanterns were lit, decorating the Bridge and glorifying the campus in winter. Numerous people were attracted to visit the lantern show.
Over the lake, the Bridge was shining with colorful lights, echoing with the glittering neon lights on pavilion eaves. And exquisite lanterns, various in shape, size, color and design, were flickering high in the breeze. Seeing the fantastic scenery, visitors can’t help pulling out their phones to take photos with delicate lanterns and organizers in Han Chinese clothing. Their laughter and admiration could be heard here and there.
The lantern show consisted of three parts: lanterns appreciating, quizzing and pot casting. Through forwarding official promotion message and collecting likes, visitors could get the specific labels on spot by which they could participate in the quiz and pot-casting activities. Besides, various lanterns would be given to visitors according to their performances in the activity. It was reported that the promotion message had been shared for over 1,400 times, and the publicity in the general QQ group of Gulian Chinese Culture Society had attracted students of neighboring universities to visit the show.
With the arrival of visitors and more lanterns being lit up, the lantern show finally began at 6.30 p.m. Drawn by the slogan of “Get the Answer Right, Go Home with Light”, many visitors gathered in the quiz-site and competed to answer the questions. Those who got right answers cheered while those who gave wrong answers signed, and in a trice, the lanterns were taken away one after another.
Leaning forward and trying his best to reach forward, Yin Shengfei put forth his strength to throw after aiming the target. “You Did it! Well done!” Visitors shouted and applauded for his excellent performance. “I came here to admire the show with my roommates from Hunan Software Vocational Institute. It’s amazing. This kind of lantern show offers us Han Chinese culture lovers a great chance to experience the traditional custom. ” Yin Shengfei said, holding the purple lantern he just won.
Wang Kexin, a member of Gulian Chinese Culture Society, is a big fan of the festive lanterns. She even invited her roommates to enjoy the show in Han Chinese clothing. Wang said, “The lantern show provides a good opportunity for us to understand the traditional custom. Participants marvel at the charm of the traditional culture by experiencing it.”
The show came to an end at 8 p.m. with 90 lanterns all given away. “In order to create a better experience for the participants, we spent one month planning the show. Henceforth, we will optimize the forms of activities as far as possible for a better inheritance of the traditional culture.” Zhang Hang, the leader of Gulian Chinese Culture Society, said after the show.
(Translated by Chen Meijun, Dai Li, Yu Ling)
