On the night of the Lantern Festival, the lights and shadows merge into the Milky Way. As spring gradually returns and the moon's shadow becomes fuller, the annual Lantern Festival arrives as scheduled. People weave through the dazzling lanterns, making wishes for "peace and prosperity year after year"; in the light and shadow scenes painted by drones, they experience the new traditions of the festival enhanced by technology; amidst the consumer boom, they savor the warmth and prosperity of the New Year.

Celebrating the Lantern Festival, the festive atmosphere is strong. Around noon, the Nine-Turn Bridge in Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden is bustling with people. "Walking on the Nine-Turn Bridge during the New Year, all worries for the year disappear." Visiting Yuyuan Garden during the New Year has become a tradition for Luo Tingting's family in Shanghai. Early on the morning of the Lantern Festival, Luo Tingting's family drove here. "What my daughter and I love the most are the increasingly fashionable Yuyuan Lantern Festival and the array of New Year delicacies in the mall," said Luo Tingting. At this year's Yuyuan Lantern Festival, various lanterns such as the golden snake lantern, exotic flower lanterns, and lanterns depicting mythical creatures from the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" attract people to take photos.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, the Nine-Turn Bridge at Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden was bustling with crowds. Photo by Chen Aiping, Xinhua News Agency.

On the first Lantern Festival following the successful inscription of the Spring Festival as an intangible cultural heritage, traditional customs such as admiring lanterns, solving lantern riddles, and visiting temple fairs remain the preferred ways for people across the country to celebrate the festival. Activities like parading the "straw dragon," burning dragon lanterns, "stealing greens" from the fields, and bonfire parties... During the Lantern Festival, the Lishan Han Torch Festival in Shiya Village, Dingjia Subdistrict, Bishan District, Chongqing, brought the festive atmosphere to a climax. The Lishan Han Torch Festival is a long-standing local New Year folk activity. At the torch festival, villagers "connect" their own straw-made "straw dragons" on the spot, attaching dragon heads and tails to assemble a "giant dragon." The hundreds of meters long "straw dragon" parading through the village is quite spectacular. "The longer the dragon's body, the more auspicious it is. Those who touch the dragon's body or make the straw dragon by hand will have their New Year's wishes come true," one of the "dragon bearers" told reporters.

Tourists are enjoying and taking photos at the Harbin Ice and Snow World. Photo by Yang Siqi, Xinhua News Agency.

Recently, the 9th Asian Winter Games grandly opened in Harbin. When a cultural and sports event meets the Lantern Festival, what kind of sparks will it ignite? Gao Yunzhuo, a Harbin citizen, welcomed the Lantern Festival from the audience seats at the Asian Winter Games. "I managed to get tickets for figure skating, speed skating, and ice hockey in advance, and I'm particularly excited," she said. The atmosphere at the venue was fantastic, and when the Chinese athletes appeared, everyone shouted "Go China" together. At the Harbin Ice and Snow World, Cai Xiangting, a young tourist from Taiwan, was taking photos with the ice and snow sculptures of the Asian Winter Games mascots "Binbin" and "Nini". "Coming here just in time for the Lantern Festival, the red decorations and the warm people made me feel very friendly," she said.

New Year traditions, new experiences. "We specifically chose a high-floor riverside room to enjoy the drone light show, this 'cyber' Lantern Festival has a unique beauty of technology," said Li Huijuan, a tourist from Guizhou, who chose to spend the Lantern Festival in Chongqing this year. From the second day to the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, drone performances are held every night at the confluence of the two rivers in Chongqing, and watching the drone light show has become a new experience for people to "view lanterns" during the Lantern Festival. Many Chongqing restaurants have launched "drone light show viewing packages," and riverside hotels and homestays are also promoting high-floor and large terrace rooms that offer views of the drone performances. Reporters have observed that outdoor immersive lantern festivals, temple fairs, and markets incorporating modern technologies such as holographic projection and naked-eye 3D have become new highlights of this year's Lantern Festival. In Chongqing's Liberation Monument business district, the "Cloud Heavenly Palace Extreme Flying Ball" experience project combines technology with intangible cultural heritage markets, allowing tourists to feel as if they are visiting Chongqing's landmark attractions. In Shanghai's Jing'an District, a light and shadow show full of the atmosphere of the Year of the Snake is underway. A mechanical snake body several meters high is covered in a light and shadow "snake coat"; the intangible cultural heritage light and shadow show "Floating Light Hundred Plays" tells the story of prosperous Jing'an in the style of Shanghai-style shadow puppetry; interactive installations broadcast New Year greetings from around the world... "The combination of traditional New Year customs with the metaverse and interactive technology is both culturally rich and futuristic," said tourist Li Chenguang. Li Ruiyuan, an associate professor at the College of Computer Science at Chongqing University, said that the perfect integration of technologies previously used in industry and gaming with intangible cultural heritage and folk customs reflects the increasing application of technology in everyday life, "Technology and the New Year 'meet each other halfway,' opening up the most tech-savvy New Year travel experience."

Hot consumption, ample supply. At the time, the Ningbo Tangyuan shop located in the Yuyuan Garden Mall in Shanghai was fully seated, with long queues at the takeout window, as many consumers came to buy festive snacks for the Lantern Festival. Xu Zhengliu, the person in charge of the Ningbo Tangyuan shop, introduced that as the Lantern Festival approaches, the daily sales of handmade tangyuan in the shop exceed ten thousand, and it is expected to break through ten thousand on the day of the Lantern Festival. This year, they have also developed a cute-shaped "Snake Brings Good Fortune" tangyuan, which is very popular among consumers.

In the evening, at the interactive immersive restaurant Longfeng Chengxiang Xiyan in Yuzhong, Chongqing, citizens and tourists enjoyed the performance while savoring specialty dishes. Photo by Li Xiaoting, Xinhua News Agency.

While immersing themselves in the theatrical experience and savoring specialty cuisine, the interactive immersive restaurant "Longfeng Chengxiang Xiyan" in Yuzhong, Chongqing, was bustling on the night of the Lantern Festival. Ms. Yang, a tourist from Zhejiang, and her family had reserved their seats well in advance for the Lantern Festival. "I saw this immersive dining concept on an online platform and found it very unique," she said. The restaurant's manager, Yang Xingyi, mentioned that after each act of the play, a course of food is served, featuring carefully designed fusion dishes that combine local flavors with tastes suitable for tourists from other regions. Visitors can also interact with the performers, enhancing their sense of participation. This Lantern Festival, various regions have rolled out a feast of consumption and cultural tourism. Cultural and museum institutions across Chongqing have launched over a hundred Lantern Festival cultural activities; in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, various commercial districts have introduced dining group coupons, must-eat food markets, and Lantern Festival discounts, providing citizens with high-quality holiday consumption experiences.

On the evening of the Lantern Festival, a gala was officially launched at the Dream Grand Stage of the Harbin Ice and Snow World. The passionate singing and dynamic dances blended the pure beauty of ice and snow with the vibrant energy of the Asian Winter Games, presenting a unique cultural feast amidst the snowy landscape.

Tourists ring the century bell at the Harbin Ice and Snow World to welcome the Lantern Festival. Photo by Yang Siqi, Xinhua News Agency.

In addition to the spectacular performances, the Ice and Snow World park also offers visitors steaming hot yuanxiao (sweet rice dumplings), allowing them to feel the blessings and warmth during the Lantern Festival.