Lantern Festival celebrated across China
2012-02-06 13:54:13 GMT2012-02-06 21:54:13(Beijing Time)
Xinhua English
Hundreds of lanterns are seen at Nanshan Park, Helingeer County, Hohhot City, Feb. 5, 2012, the Lantern Festival.(Xinhua/Li Yunping)
Hundreds of lanterns are seen at Nanshan Park, Helingeer County, Hohhot City, Feb. 5, 2012, the Lantern Festival.(Xinhua/Li Yunping)
Lion Dance performers take part in the annual Yangko dancing show to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, Feb. 6, 2012. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)
Folk artists give acrobatic stilt performance to celebrate the Lantern Festival in suburban Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 6, 2012.(Xinhua/Bu Xiangdong)
Drummers give performance to celebrate the Lantern Festival in Zibo, east China's Shandong Province, Feb. 6, 2012. (Xinhua/Zhao Dongshan)
Citizens and tourists swarm to the lantern fair of the Confucius Temple in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 5, 2012, one day ahead of the traditional Lantern Festival. (Xinhua/Li Ke)
Tourists eat traditional Chinese food "yuanxiao", or glutinous rice ball, during International Snow Sculpture Art Expo in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 6, 2012, the Lantern Festival. (Xinhua/Wang Feng)
China celebrated on Monday its traditional Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar.
The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Since the Lantern Festival is held to mark the first full moon of the new lunar year, Chinese celebrate it by hanging colorful lanterns, playing games and gathering with friends to eat sweetened rice dumplings.
