The spinning plates resemble lotus leaves in the breeze and butterflies flying among the flowers. Fairy Tree Sichuan Operaīesides the 28 larger than life illuminated groupings to wander through and enjoy, shows are presented daily highlighting the special skills of an acrobatic performance of plate spinning on 3 foot bamboo poles. Its constantly sparkling and changing hues drew me into its magic and charm. One of my favorite displays was the beautiful fairy tree, a symbol of life and vitality. One can walk through a Shark Tunnel that is 75 feet long and weighs 1.5 tons and a Time Tunnel with stars and moons and the heavens glowing in changing colors. Their stories have been passed down from generation to generation for over 2,000 years. The Azure Dragon of the East, the White Tiger of the West, the Black Tortoise of the North, and the Vermilion Bird of the South are four mythical animals said to have mystical powers that brought luck and happiness. Standing 200 feet long and 21 feet high with the head installed by a crane with a 15-person crew. A centerpiece is the glowing blue and white Chinese Dragon lantern which is longer than three school buses and weighs 3,000 pounds. The design was inspired by the Chinese myth, “Leaping the Dragon Gate.” Legend has it that each Chinese carp would swim the Yellow River upstream to spawn, and those who could leap the waterfall at the Dragon Gate would transform into dragons! This metaphor is used to describe a person who works hard and diligently. Visitors first walk through a beautiful orange and red glowing koi fish gate. Each light sculpture tells a legend or symbolizes an old Chinese story. The festival location at Franklin Square is totally transformed into a magical, whimsical Chinese wonderland. Last year, more than 89,000 people from 49 states and 17 countries visited the Festival. It is a massive feat of artistry and engineering and a truly wonderful gift from China to our city of Brotherly/Sisterly love. For one month prior to the recent opening, a 30 person team of artisans worked to build the steel frames, light them with over 15,000 LED lights along 16,000 feet of electric cables and finally stretch the silk over the metal. They then transported all the materials by ship in 15 containers to Philadelphia. In China, artists designed the lanterns and they were then created by hand on over 50,000 square feet of silk fabric. In modern times, lanterns have been embellished with many complex designs similar to those on view here in Philadelphia.

In ancient times, the lanterns were fairly simple, and only the emperor and noblemen had large ornate ones. They are held to gain favor of Taiyi, the god of heaven and invoke blessings on a fruitful harvest. Out of this legend over hundreds of years, the celebration of the Chinese Lantern Festival continues throughout major cities in China on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar.

He got the people to light torches, lanterns and set off fireworks to fool the god into thinking the world was already burning and then leave mankind in peace. As fate would have it, there was a very wise man in the village who hit upon an ingenious solution. The god was so angry that he ordered the entire village be burned in retaliation. This bird flew down to earth and unfortunately, a villager killed the bird by accident. Centuries ago as the story goes, there was a beautiful bird who was favored by a god. Many beautiful cultural traditions have grown out of myth and legend and this is one of them.

Come sunset, the heart of Philadelphia is now aglow with 28 larger than life illuminated groupings of 1,500 individual lanterns created by artisans from China. Sitting two blocks from the Liberty Bell and under the Benjamin Franklin Bridge is a site not to be missed. Walking Under Symbols of Luck and Good Fortune

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