2012上海国际灯会节揭开序幕

Back in 1990, Shanghai held its first modern autumn lantern festival, when 35 giant lanterns went on display for one and a half months, to the excitement of Shanghai’s residents. Now 22 years later, the lanterns are back.

This time 52 sets of lanterns have arrived at Lu Xun Park in Shanghai, depicting images of places of interest around the world. Among them, the Brandenburg Gate in Germany, St Basil’s Cathedral in Russia and the Olympic Torch in London... Another highlight is the two-hundred-meter porcelain dragon, made of almost 100,000 plates, spoons and cups. Despite weighing as much as 50 tons, the dragon can bow its head to welcome visitors.

The festival also sees the return of the "Nine Dragon Screen". The original is a carving on the walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Here it’s a special illuminated installation depicting the nine dragons, and was made for the Shanghai festival 22 years ago. Now it’s back in the city to light up the night sky. And the lanterns will be on display for a total of 40 days, leading up to China’s traditional Mid-Autumn Day Lantern Festival.