Fun Facts About Our Chinese Lanterns & Festivals
Explore the History, Technology, and Other Fun Facts About Our Chinese Lantern Festivals
Beyond Lanterns: Tianyu’s Immersive Festival Experience
What do you think of when you imagine a lantern festival? Most may go straight to the illuminated lanterns when they think of Tianyu Arts & Culture, but there is so much more to appreciate at the company’s nationally renowned lantern festivals. With traditional Chinese performances, innovative displays, and a broad spectrum of multicultural cuisine, there is so much to enjoy beyond the lanterns… Read more
Tianyu Lantern Festivals: Family Friendly Fun
provide a safe environment where parents have to worry less about… Read more
Go Behind the Scenes of a Tianyu Lantern Festival
Learn the Meaning of Tianyu’s Lanterns
history. Today, they can be made in any shape or form and are used to represent
animals, environments, and other aspects of our customs and traditions. Tianyu
Arts & Culture, Inc. (Tianyu) chooses what lanterns to create and feature
at partners’ festivals based on several factors, including Chinese heritage and
visitor interest. Read more
Celebrate Earth Day Every Day and Promote Conservation with Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc.
Nature is a priority for Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc. and a focus of our work. While Earth Day is celebrated on April 22, we incorporate Earth Day messages into our festivals year-round. Over the last decade, we have worked tirelessly with zoos, botanical gardens, and natural science institutions to promote a sustainable world and protect the animals that inhabit it. Our partners’ work inspires us, and we actively incorporate conservation and sustainable messages throughout our lantern festivals. By creating colorful and engaging flora and fauna lanterns, our goal is to educate our guests on conservation and raise awareness of what we can do to protect endangered species. Read more
Tianyu’s lantern festivals have proven to drive attendance and revenue for partners across the United States, regardless of the climate or season. From Seattle to Boston, Oklahoma City to Central Florida, Tianyu events offer entertainment, education, and inspiration 12 months a year.
The glow of Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc.’s larger-than-life lanterns of magnificent and varying colors is awe-inspiring and catches visitors’ eyes, but the music that fills the air is an integral part of the visitor experience.
We have created memorable festivals across the United States and Europe for over 3.12 million visitors, and a frequently asked question is where to find the music heard at the festivals. From traditional Chinese folk music to contemporary atmospheric music, many of our musical selections are customized and unique to individual festivals and previously could not be found online … until now!
In 2020, we partnered with Zoo New England to launch the first-of-its-kind lantern festival in the New England area: Boston Lights: A Lantern Experience at Franklin Park Zoo, located in Boston, Mass. Originally scheduled for August 21 to October 30, 2020, it was extended for two more weeks due to popular demand. We used our limited staff to set up every one of the 60 lantern groups consisting of roughly 20,000 LED lights that spanned across the Zoo’s 72 acres.
This outdoor experience featured favorites from prior festivals, including the 66-foot-long shark tunnel, the 197-foot-long dragon lantern, and a beautiful butterfly tree.
2020 was an unprecedented year for all due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Tianyu Arts & Culture, Inc., worked with venue partners to adapt and create new touchless interactive displays that still maintained — and even enhanced — the festival experience.
Like many in 2020, Tianyu had to innovate and pivot as events were canceled or postponed across the world due to health and safety concerns.
In 2020, Tianyu was proud to continue working with the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo for the third annual Asian Lantern Festival. In this unique year, we worked closely with Cleveland Metroparks Zoo team to design exhibits that met COVID-19 safety guidelines, as well as adjusted our construction process to accommodate the Zoo’s availability.
For 28 days, we installed our lanterns during business hours behind-the-scenes so that we did not disrupt the Zoo’s daily operation.
Historically, the Chinese lantern festival would take place on the 15th day of the first month of the Lunar calendar (known as the Yuan) – which usually occurs in February in the Gregorian calendar. We honor our deceased ancestors while promoting peace and reconciliation by lighting lanterns as we celebrate the New Year.
As we approach the Chinese New Year on February 12 (marking the year of the Ox in 2021 and lasting through February 26), we wanted to share the origins, craft, and cultural experiences that we traditionally associate with the lantern festival.
Choosing which larger-than-life Chinese lantern that will illuminate the night during your next festival or special event shouldn’t be the same as choosing a T-shirt or sweater from the department store rack.
Every experience should be unique, and one-of-a-kind experiences make your event stand out from the crowd.
Mowgli, Baloo, and Shere Khan are just three of the many iconic characters that appear in Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book.” Popular across the globe, the story inspired our lantern festival at the Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, entitled Jungle Book Light Festival, which attracted thousands of visitors each night.
Did you know that the Malayan tapir can hide in a river and use its flexible snout like a snorkel? Or that a Greenland shark might be the world’s oldest living vertebrate at up to 512 years old? Many of these awe-inspiring animals are in danger, and by recreating them in colorful and engaging ways.
Every Tianyu Lantern Festival is unique. You can follow our festivals around the country like you’d follow your favorite band, or visit every baseball stadium, exploring and engaging with the details that make each event so memorable.
We can’t wait to welcome you back to our festivals when the time is right, but for now you can surround yourself with our colorful virtual backgrounds to enliven your next Zoom meeting or happy hour! Tianyu festivals are filled with light lanterns that come in all shapes and sizes, and provide stunning backgrounds for photographers.
We are bringing our larger-than-life lantern sculptures to you with lantern art challenges and activities that you can do anywhere — even in the comfort of your home. Just like our Chinese lantern festivals, these lantern art challenges are designed for people of all ages.
China has an exceptionally rich culture that dates back thousands of years. As one of the oldest countries in the world, China is known for having one of the highest populations and tourism rates. From a global perspective, people have come to appreciate and endear China as a country known for its timeless traditions.
Lanterns have been a part of Chinese culture since the Eastern Han Dynasty, and today they are the focal point of festivals that happen all over the world. The frame is made of bamboo, wood, rattan or wire, and the shade is made of paper or silk. Lanterns can be created in any shape or color.