The fish lantern parade on Lantern Festival in Yixian Ancient City. [Photo provided to regional.chinadaily.com.cn/amazinghuangshan]
The folk cultural performance on Lantern Festival in Yixian Ancient City. [Photo provided to regional.chinadaily.com.cn/amazinghuangshan]
The ancient city of Yixian, Huangshan, dazzled visitors on Tuesday evening as the 2026 Lantern Festival celebration kicked off, offering a fusion of traditional culture, lantern art, and lantern riddle contests.
Traditional Huizhou lanterns lined the stone alleys, while the spectacular Xidi Bench Dragon weaved through streets and the graceful Zhishan Phoenix Dance, a provincial-level heritage piece, captivated audiences. The horse lantern parade from Shiting village featured dozens of bamboo horses prancing to drumbeats, symbolizing vigor in the Year of the Horse.
"The horse represents progress and determination in traditional culture," said young lantern artist Huang Xianhao from Shiting village. "As a new generation artisan, I will continue creating works that honor Huizhou traditions while embracing contemporary expression."
By 8 pm, nearly 1,000 original riddles — covering local history, rural vitalization, and Yixian dialect — drew eager crowds to the ancient streets. "These riddles bridge our cultural heritage with modern development," said Cheng Honghui, a municipal-level riddle inheritor.
Part of the "Peach Blossom Spring Grand New Year" series, the event integrated traditional cuture with tourism, showcasing Yixian's preservation efforts and rural achievements while breathing new life into the millennium-old city.