Since ancient times, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month has been called the Lantern Festival in China. In the evening of this day, family members world get together, eating sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice flour, visiting lantern shows and finding out lantern riddles, a scene of bustle and excitement. The Chengdu Lantern Festival was rooted in this custom. Nowadays, it is held in the Qingyanggong Park and the Cultural Park area annually, lasting about a month. The lanterns displayed have a good variety including traditional ones made of paper, silk and color glass as well as various kinds of neon lamps controlled with sound, light and electricity, low-voltage lamps, program controlled lamps, and lantern groups in various design which either tells a tale or displays a grand scene. The lantern group in dragon design consists of golden dragon drawn with sugar, jade dragon made of ceramics, two dragons playing with a pearl, golden dragon holding a pillar, nine dragons taking off and a dragon playing in water. All these lanterns are the products of superb craftsmanship. They upgrade the traditional recreational activity onto a new scale.
