Quanzhou -- the Lantern Festival 

Family reunion is all about Lantern Festival, in another word, Lantern Festival is about family reunion. It's a major element, family sit together and enjoying the moment together and eating together and praying to the ancestor and showing the respect to every family member. I am going to join the family reunion right over there.

According to the tradition, at the very beginning of a lunar new year, when there is a bright full moon hanging in the sky, there should be thousands of colorful lanterns hung out for people to appreciate. At this time, people will try to solve the puzzles on the lanterns and eat yuanxiao (glutinous rice ball) and get all their families united in the joyful atmosphere.

I love Lantern Festival because I can find all kind of lanterns besides those artistic lanterns here are some electronic lanterns. For instance, this one in my hand is with music, you can dance with it.

By the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in the seventh century, the lantern displays would last three days. The emperor also lifted the curfew, allowing the people to enjoy the festive lanterns day and night. It is not difficult to find Chinese poems, which describe this happy scene. Today the displaying of lanterns on the commercial streets, shopping districts and homes are very popular in Quanzhou.

There are many private shops, lantern factories in Quan Zhou, and they are famous for making large-scale products. For instance, the one I visited owned by Ms. Cao Shu Zhen is quite popular during the holiday.

Now this is a beautiful year for this lantern factory. Look at this beautiful lantern, it all made of silk as outside with inside frame built by bamboo, not only that when it is lit on inside pictures can turn, it shows the beautiful scene of Quan Zhou. I am goona to keep working.

A typical method of making a display lantern has about three steps. First of all it's the base and frame. Most of them are made of wood and bamboo. Then is the design of inside lighting. It has to be bright enough to match the picture, but keep the perfect temperature that wont risk the wrapping. The last step is the outer design. It usually use the silk and paper.

Brilliantly-lit floats and mechanically driven light displays draw the attention of the young and old alike. Sometimes, entire streets are blocked off, with lanterns mounted above and to the sides, creating a hallway of lamps. Some cities in North China even make lanterns from blocks of ice! And just as in days gone by, the billion-watt background sets the scene for dragon and lion dances, parades, and other festivities.

Master craftsman will construct multicolored paper lanterns in the likeness of butterflies, dragons, birds, dragonflies, and many other animals; these accentuate the more common, red, spherical lanterns.

Paper cut lantern is the hardest one to make compare with any other lanterns. I have seen so many lanterns so far. There are plastic, silk, and paper, but paper cut by hand with one knife is the hardest one to do.

Now after we do all the work, after paper cut, color, paint and fold, now lets show you how it looks like. You add the pieces together this lantern will look pretty good.

Here it shows the process of making a puppy doll. It is quite complicated even to make a small puppy doll. You start with helmet, head, the custom, inner body design and the painting. Take a look at here, it only show the process of making a head. If it is made of wood, it starts with a piece of wood like this, it's nia block of incant wood. Then there is rough cut come out these set, and then working on the details. This is a piece of art, and the painting, carving the end product would look like this, its cute, isn't it.