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ABOUT ZIGONG LANTERN FESTIVAL The fame of the Zigong Lantern Festival has spread far and wide thanks to the high prestige. Chinese lanterns enjoy reputation throughout the world.The industrious and resourceful people of Zigong have not only invented the unmatched deep well drilling technology. They have also beautified life with all descriptions of lanterns. By drawing on quintessential Chinese culture. Zigong has been lauded as the venue for "Number One Lantern Festival under Heaven".Apart from its lanterns. Zigong, a national famous historical and cultural city. is also known as an "Age-old Salt Capital" and "Land of Dinosaurs"_ The habit of the Zigong people to display Lanterns during Spring Festival goes back to the Tang Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty the Lion shaped Lantern Festival and the Lantern Pole Festival emerged as two major local festivals. In the beginning of this century. more such festivals were developed. such as the Heavenly Lantern Show. the Dragon Dance Festival, the Lion Dance Festival, and the Colourful Lantern Carnival. AII this contributed to Zigong's reputation as the "Capital of Lanterns". After liberation, the Zigong Spring Festival Lantern show was restored after many years of suspension. So far the spring Lantern Festival has been held on seven occasions. and the International Dinosaur and Lantern Festival and Trade Fair took place on five occasions. Together with its counterpart in Harbin in the Northeast, the Zigong Lantern Festival is one of two most representative Lantern shows in this country. The watchword of the festival is to "make as many friends as possible with Lanterns serving as the go-between and rejuvenate the local economy, take great pride in Lanterns, and become ardent builders of Zigong". With the support of the municipal govemment and the efforts of the people throughout the city. the Zigong Lantern Festival has blazed a new trailing carrying forward the rich cultural legacy of China, promoting the Chinese culture by expanding trade with the rest of the world. and integrating cultural undertakings with business. For this reason the festival has won the solicitous care and support of top Chinese leaders, including Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin. The Zigong Lantern Festival is renowned for its high cultural attainment. numerous masterpieces. distinct artistic features, and impressive pomp and pageantry. During the festival the entire city seems to be taken over by mountains of lanterns and an ocean of glistening lights. At the buildings in downtown look like colossal works of gold-bejeweled jade carvings. elaborately adorned as they are with neon lights that never fail to stir up a riot of colour. Walking down the street during the festival is like being transported into a dream world. The Zigong Lantern Festival is indeed, unmatched in glamour, craftsmanship, and local navour. For this reason visitors come in droves from every nook and cranny of the world. Since the implementation of the policy of reform and opening up to the outside world,the Zigong Lantern Festival has staged 50 shows in such cities as Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Changchun, Lhasa, Urumqi, Harbin, Baotou, Taizhong and Hong Kong, thereby ushering the Chinese Lanterns and the culture associated with them into a new age of development. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Zigong Lantern Festival has been shown for IO times in such countries as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Japan. Beginning from October l.1997 more people around the world are able to enjoy the festival on the Internet. The Zigong Lantern Festival has also brought favourable economic returns by adapting itself to international trade and opening itself to the outside world. So far more than 40 million people from around the world have attended this festival. With money raised during the festival. Zigong has built China's only Lantern museum in Zigong the making and exhibition of lanterns and trade fairs held during the Lantern Festival have become an industry in its own right as well as a new source of local revenue. In the beginning of 1998. the municipal government successfully held the Fifth International Dinosaur Lantern Festival and Trade Fair. which as its name suggests, integrated culture, science and technology and tourism into an integral whole, and offered another window for the city to attract foreign investors and businesses. This gave a great impetus to the local authorities, effort to open up to the outside world and develop the local economy. The people have created the lantern show, which. in return. brings benefits to the local people. With the new century dawning on the horizon, the Zigong Lantern Festival is bound to become more of a feast to the eye.
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