Lantern making industry in Zigong, SW China's Sichuan expands globally

Lanterns are seen during a lantern festival held during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday in early October 2023. (Xinhua/Li Mengxin)

Tourists visiting a lantern festival in Zigong city, southwest China's Sichuan Province were greeted by a breathtaking visual feast of immersive lantern displays.

With 21 themed lantern clusters, the festival captivated visitors with exquisite craftsmanship and grandiose scenes.

Zigong organized a lantern carnival during the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday this year for the first time, making a shift towards a themed lantern festival.

The Zigong lantern festival was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008. In 1990, the festival made its debut abroad in Singapore. Over the past more than 30 years, the festival has been held in over 80 countries and regions, as well as more than 500 cities in China, attracting over 600 million tourist visits from home and abroad.

Zhang Fanglai, an associate researcher from the Colorful Lantern Museum of China located in Zigong, has been studying the lantern culture for many years. He believes that artisans in Zigong possess exceptional skills and craftsmanship.

In 2018, the Forbidden City in Beijing faced challenges in finding skilled craftsmen to create lanterns for an event during the upcoming 2019 Chinese New Year. However, they eventually discovered artisans from Zigong who proved to be the perfect fit for the task. These craftsmen crafted all 116 lanterns that adorned the Forbidden City during the 2019 Chinese New Year.

The popularity of Zigong lanterns is not only attributable to local artisans' exquisite craftsmanship but is also driven by various innovative factors in the industry.

During the recent lantern festival in Zigong, there was a significant presence of young people from different locations among the visitors. Zhang said these young visitors expressed their admiration for the festival, noting its cyberpunk ambience.

Zigong craftsmen are good at merging traditional culture with contemporary elements, said Zhang.

Xiong Biao, general manager of Zigong Xinghe Lantern Culture Co., Ltd., is a third-generation lantern maker. The man, who is nearly 60, is dedicated to creating exceptional small-scale palace lanterns.

Xiong acknowledged that while most Zigong lantern companies prioritize creating large-scale lanterns, small lanterns are equally crucial for lantern festivals.

He stressed that the smaller the lantern, the more difficult it is to make. To address this, his company intends to employ new materials like acrylic, and incorporate advanced technology to facilitate the industrialization and mass production of small lanterns.

Welders work on lantern production at a factory in Da'an district, Zigong city, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Tang Wenhao)

Over the course of several decades, the Zigong lantern festival has established a complete link encompassing design, production, installation, arrangement, and exhibition. Resources pertinent to the industry have become more concentrated, leading to the gradual formation and expansion of the Zigong lantern making industry and its supply chain.

Zigong has a workforce of 50,000 lantern people dedicated to year-round lantern production, and 150,000 seasonal lantern workers. Zigong lanterns dominate the domestic lantern exhibition market with an 85 percent market share, and they also enjoy a significant presence in international lantern exhibitions, enjoying a 92 percent market share.