The Lantern Festival fair at Sea World in Shekou attracted a diverse crowd on Feb. 24. Hosted by the Zhaoshang Subdistrict, the fair boasted 17 booths offering food, arts, games, and cultural experiences. Live music, a drone show, and fountain performances added to the festive ambiance.

The Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first month on the Chinese lunar calendar, marks the end of Spring Festival celebrations. The festival features family reunions, feasts, lantern displays, and various cultural activities. The vivid celebrations in Shenzhen united locals and expats in spirited revelry.

A girl wearing clothes with traditional Chinese culture elements at the Lantern Festival fair at Sea World in Shekou on Feb. 24, the Lantern Festival.

Ali Shoaib, a Pakistani who has resided in China for three years, said: “This is my first time celebrating the Chinese New Year and Lantern Festival in Shenzhen, and it has allowed me to immerse myself in Chinese culture. I have captured videos and photos as mementos, sharing them with my friends.”

“We celebrated the Chinese New Year in Chinatown in Los Angeles with a dragon dance and a simple parade, but the experience here in China is very different,” Gannt Wystix, from the U.S., remarked after volunteering at the fair. “The fair at Sea World has allowed me to explore various aspects of Chinese culture including different foods and snacks from across China.”

An expat takes photos at colorful paper lanterns at the fair in Shekou.

Bi Mingyan, director of the Nanshan International Cultural Exchange & Service Center, highlighted the importance of such events in promoting international cultural exchange. Zhaoshang Subdistrict, as an international locale, leveraged the festival to deepen foreigners’ understandings of Chinese culture and local traditions, according to her.