The Qinhuai Lantern Festival, also known as the Jinling Lantern Festival and the Confucius Temple Lantern Festival, is one of the first batch of national intangible cultural heritages. It has the reputation of ‘the best lantern festival in the world’ and ‘Qinhuai lanterns are the best in the world’. It is the only large-scale comprehensive lantern festival in China that integrates lantern exhibitions, lantern festivals and lantern fairs. It is also the folk lantern festival with the longest duration, the largest number of participants and the largest scale in China. Watching lanterns during the Spring Festival is a traditional custom of old Nanjing. Tracing the origin of this custom, people often mention the Ming Dynasty painting ‘Lantern Festival Decorations on Shangyuan Festival’. On the bustling market street, there are various lanterns in different shapes and vivid images, such as lotus, pumpkin, crab, dragon and phoenix, unicorn, and longevity crane. A picture reproduces the grand occasion of the lantern fair by the Qinhuai River in ancient times and reflects the colorful scenery for ten miles from ancient times to the present. Opening hours: February 2 – February 27.
