Chongqing - Starting August 15, the ancient stone bridges and riverside lanes of Wanling Ancient Town will glow with lanterns, music, and showers of molten iron. The 11th Qixi River Lantern Tourism and Cultural Festival opens in Rongchang District for a five-night run through August 19, transforming the Laixi River waterfront into an immersive stage where Tang-dynasty romance meets neon-lit modernity.
The river lantern festival features lantern designs based on traditional culture (Photo: Event Organizer)
Now in its second decade, the festival has evolved from a modest folk tradition of floating paper lanterns into a multi-layered cultural spectacle. This year’s edition is organized around eight themed zones that weave together intangible cultural heritage performances, live music, night markets, interactive games, and riverside light installations. The goal, organizers say, is to let visitors experience
Qixi — often described as China’s traditional Valentine’s Day — not as a museum piece, but as a living, shareable celebration.
The evenings will open with a “Starry Sky Concert” that deliberately blurs eras: classical Chinese dancers share the stage with modern rock bands and electronic DJs. For those seeking a quieter mood, the “Tangcheng Strings” zone offers an immersive art experience where violin and piano recitals drift over craft-beer tastings and pastry pairings along the water.
Visitors flock to the lantern festival (Photo: Event Organizer)
The visual centerpiece is “Phoenix in Lights,” a production that pairs a 1,000-year-old intangible cultural heritage craft with 21st-century spectacle. Master artisans will hurl molten iron against cold stone, sending showers of golden sparks into the night sky — the traditional “iron flower” technique — while projected dragons and phoenixes glide overhead and dancers perform on bamboo rafts drifting downriver. The result is a three-way collision of fire, water, and light that feels both ancient and cinematic.
Between spectacles, visitors can wander a riverside market stocked with Rongchang Braised Goose, local bean jelly, and handicrafts, or test their reflexes at the “Clever Fun Garden Party,” a carnival of traditional mini-games including chopstick challenges, makeup stations styled after the Weaver Girl legend, and water-marbled lacquer-fan workshops.
A poetry corner invites guests to match classical couplets, while roving actors portraying Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai and folk jesters stage pop-up performances and flash mobs along the lantern-lit alleys. Every corner of the ancient town has been dressed in Qixi-themed light sculptures and romantic illumination, designed as much for camera lenses as for the naked eye.
The festival runs nightly from August 15 to 19. Admission is free, though some interactive experiences require a pass or a minimum purchase at designated craft shops. Organizers say they expect the event to draw thousands of visitors to the Laixi River banks — proof that in Rongchang, old romance still knows how to draw a crowd.