Palace Museum in Beijing Illuminated for Lantern Festival

The Lantern Festival is a Chinese festival celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first month in the lunar calendar. It marks the final day of the traditional Chinese New Year celebrations. During the Lantern Festival, children go out at night carrying paper lanterns and solve riddles on the lanterns.

This year, the Lantern Festival falls on February 19. To celebrate the special occasion, Beijing’s Palace Museum has been illuminated and opened to the public for night visits for the first time. “Lantern Festival in the Forbidden City” are held for two consecutive nights on the 19th and 20th of February.

As night fell yesterday, visitors were welcomed by a light show at the Meridian Gate exhibition hall. A dazzling array of lights also lit up the Supreme Harmony Hall. Chinese characters and traditional decorations were projected on the outer walls.

Along two corridors, the ancient Chinese paintings “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” and “One Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains” were projected on rooftops.

Please enjoy some beautiful pictures of the illuminated Palace Museum. Wish you a Happy Lantern Festival and a prosperous 2019 ahead!

Photo Credits: Pu Feng (The Beijing News), Palace Museum