Source: CCTV.com

02-06-2009 08:42

China's Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar year. It marks the end of the Spring Festival and the first full moon of the new year. This year, it falls on Monday. As the festival's name suggests, lanterns play a starring role in celebrations. Here's a look at the tradition of making lanterns in northern China's Shanxi province.

Colorful lanterns are everywhere. Most feature the zodiac animal of 2009: the ox.

Walking around Hengqu village in northern Shanxi, it's easy to get into the festive mood. Colorful lanterns are everywhere. Most feature the zodiac animal of 2009: the ox.

Wang Jianguo, a hengou villager of Shanxi province said, "Yes, the ox is the theme of this year's lanterns, like this one called "golden ox brings fortune." And this one is made by my son who is only 15 years old."

Local villager Wang Jianguo started to make lanterns four years ago. He says making one set of lanterns can earn him three to four thousand yuan. Last year he took in eight thousand yuan. And this year he has completed six sets of lanterns.

Lantern making is a new tradition in Hengqu village. Half of the village's 200 or so households make lanterns.

Lantern making is a new tradition in Hengqu village. Half of the village's 200 or so households make lanterns. In the 1980s some villagers noticed the lantern markets and decided to try their hand at the art. Each year, making lanterns earns the villagers around three to four million yuan.

Many orders are placed before the Lantern Festival. The lanterns are popular in Shanxi province and have also attracted buyers from other parts of the country, such as the cities of Tianjin and Shenyang and eastern Zhejiang province.

Editor:Zhao Yanchen