Grand lantern fair lights up Beijing as people celebrate the Moon Festival

(16 Sep 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Beijing, China - 16 September 2024
1. Tilt-down on the entrance of the lantern show
2. Various of crowds and lanterns
3. Close and tilt-up on the main lantern
4. Various of flower lanterns
5. Close of visitors
6. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Cui Yong, Beijing resident:
“The lantern show is very stunning. We have seen a combination of artistic and contemporary elements. It is a perfect integration of Chinese traditional crafts of lanterns and modern scientific and artistic means.”
7. Various of large scale lantern piece of Chinese fairy tale “Chang’e flying to the moon”
8. Various of visitors taking pictures
9. SOUNDBITE (Mandarin) Liu Yuan, Beijing Resident:
“We are happy to celebrate this festival which is a Chinese own one. The mid-Autumn festival is a day for reunion and we value the festival and take the time to relax after work.”
10. Wide pan of a group of lanterns showing traditional house and life of Beijing people
11. Lantern of local resident playing traditional music instrument
12. Pan on lanterns of street vendors of old times
13. Various of a group of lanterns of mountains, falls and palaces
14. SOUNDBITE(Mandarin) Ma Guang, Beijing resident:
“I think there are some special cultural characteristics in our traditional festivals which we should carry on and promote. It is also important for us to feel the similarities of different cultures. Now is the time when we should be tolerant but also adhere to our own values.”
15. Various of lanterns of Jade Hare, a character in Chinese fairy tale who lives on the moon
16. Various of Lanterns of palace and the real moon in the sky
STORYLINE:
When the sky gradually darkened on Monday, thousands flocked into a park in southwest of Beijing for a grand lantern fair with creative lanterns of varying sizes.

The fair which kicked off last weekend is for the celebration of China’s traditional mid-Autumn, or Moon Festival which falls on Tuesday, and the National Day on October 1.

The lantern fair will set new records as Beijing's longest, largest, and most intricate lantern fair ever held, according to the organizer.

Overall, a total of 100,000 colorful lantern ornaments are displayed, among them 75 are sets large and medium-sized lanterns,

The lanterns draw inspiration from cultural relics, traditional Chinese paintings, Chinese poetry and fairy tales, the organizer said.

The festival happens on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar with full moon at night.

People celebrate by eating moon cakes, enjoying the full moon and praying for the harvest of the year.

While western festivals such as Christmas and Valentines Day are popular among younger Chinese generations, the government has been working hard to revitalize traditional festivals as part of the efforts to offset the impact of western cultures.

AP Video by Wayne Zhang

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