Experience the Hongcun Intangible Cultural Heritage Lantern Festival

Experience the Hongcun Intangible Cultural Heritage Lantern Festival, a tradition that has been passed down for thousands of years. In Yixian County, Anhui Province, there is a village known as "the village in the Chinese painting" - Hongcun. Here, you can find not only the staggered Hui-style buildings, the story-filled Nanhu Lake and Moon Pond, but also an intangible cultural heritage project with a profound historical and cultural heritage - the Lantern Festival. I was lucky enough to experience the Lantern Festival in Hongcun, and I made a wish for myself and my family with a lantern in the New Year. Carrying a big lantern through the streets is not an easy task, and after experiencing it myself, I understand the importance of intangible cultural heritage and the craftsmanship of the inheritors. The Hongcun Lantern Festival was listed as an intangible cultural heritage of Huangshan City in 2008. It has a long history, dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. At that time, Hongcun was a village mainly inhabited by the Wang family. During important festivals or family celebrations, a grand Lantern Festival would be held. In those days, the Lantern Festival was not only a form of entertainment, but also an important way to unite the family and pass on traditional culture. People made exquisite lanterns and held solemn ceremonies to pray for good weather, a bountiful harvest, and family prosperity. However, with the changes of the times and the development of society, the Hongcun Lantern Festival also experienced a period of silence. Many of the skills of making lanterns and the related rituals were gradually forgotten. Fortunately, with the emphasis on the protection of intangible cultural heritage, the Hongcun Lantern Festival was revived by a group of local guardians with passion and responsibility after many years of interruption. Today, in order to better pass on the Lantern Festival, Hongcun has launched a variety of activities. Among them, research activities have become an important carrier for passing on the culture of the Lantern Festival. Visitors and students can come to Hongcun to experience the fun of making lanterns. Under the guidance of local craftsmen, they learn how to select materials, draw patterns, and tie frames, and one by one, exquisite lanterns are born in their hands. As night falls, a grand parade begins. People hold the lanterns they made and follow the parade through the ancient streets and alleys of Hongcun. The light of the lanterns illuminates the night sky and people's love for traditional culture and determination to pass it on. The whole of Hongcun seems to have returned to that ancient and lively era.