In pics: Festivities mark Lantern Festival across China People's ...

Celebrations for the Lantern Festival, which fell on Feb. 12 this year, took place across China, filling the country with a joyful atmosphere.

Breathtaking displays of colorful lanterns, vibrant dragon and lion dances, and other traditional performances captivated audiences, while delectable sweet glutinous rice dumplings — known as Yuanxiao, or Tangyuan — satisfied the taste buds and warmed the heart.

Cities across China are alive with festive cheer!

The Qiantong Lantern Festival Parade held in the Qiantong ancient town in Ninghai county, east China's Zhejiang Province, draws crowds of villagers and tourists, Feb. 11, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Yongtao)

Photo shows cooks busy making Tangyuan, sweet glutinous rice dumplings usually eaten during the Lantern Festival, at a Tangyuan shop in Yuyuan Garden, located in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 11, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Gong Sha)

A lantern show held at Xixi National Wetland Park in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, to mark the Lantern Festival draws a large crowd of visitors, Feb. 11, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Guo Yang)

A girl poses for a photo with a toy windmill and a head of lettuce, which is an auspicious symbol of good fortune, on Tongji Bridge in Chancheng district, Foshan city, south China's Guangdong Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (People's Daily Online/He Shanfu)

Participants take part in an activity celebrating the Lantern Festival at a cultural square in Xiamen city, southeast China's Fujian Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Chen Bo)

Performers of "little lions" and "big lions" of lion dance interact with each other at a sports square in Jincheng city, north China's Shanxi Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Chaoning)

A woman selects a handicraft in the shape of Xingshi, or literally awakening lion, the main prop in the southern style of the lion dance in China, at Shenzhen Festival Avenue in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, during an event marking the Lantern Festival, Feb. 11, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Jiang Jialing)

People gather in a park in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, to admire colorful lanterns and enjoy the traditional lantern riddle game, Feb. 11, 2025. (People's Daily/Xu Chenglong)

Staff and passengers enjoy a fun lantern riddle game at Lingwu Railway Station in Lingwu city, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Feb. 11, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Liang Hongxin)

Folk artists perform Huangqi Wuhui, a folk martial arts performance on the list of provincial-level representative intangible cultural heritage of north China's Hebei Province, at an activity marking the Lantern Festival in Fengning Man Autonomous County, Hebei Province, Feb. 11, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Bo)

Photo shows beautiful lanterns at the Fuzi (Confucius) Temple scenic area in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 10, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Yu Le)

Photo shows a view of the Majie Quyi Fair in Majie village of Baofeng county, central China's Henan Province, Feb. 10, 2025. Nearly 2,000 artists performed at the event. (People's Daily Online/Wang Yuxing)

A woman shops for Tangyuan, sweet glutinous rice dumplings usually eaten during the Lantern Festival, at a shopping mall in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 10, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Zhang Pei)

People watch a dragon dance during a celebration for the Lantern Festival at Ziyang Park in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 10, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Zhou Tian)

Photo shows a performance of intangible cultural heritage Datiehua (striking iron flowers), a traditional folk art, at a scenic area in Qingxu county, Taiyuan city, north China's Shanxi Province, Feb. 10, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Wang Fan)

Photo shows a lantern display at the central plaza of Yuyuan Garden in east China's Shanghai, Feb. 9, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Wang Chu)

A lantern exhibition held to mark the Lantern Festival in the Dangaer ancient city in Huangyuan county, northwest China's Qinghai Province, attracts many tourists, Feb. 9, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Ma Kexin)

Photo shows a view of a lantern show held at the Daguan Pavilion in Daguan Park, located in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Feb. 9, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Zhuang Zhibin)

A thematic lantern show held in Daming Lake Scenic area in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, is crowded with visitors, Feb. 9, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Liu Qi)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun)