On the fifth day of Chinese lunar calendar every year, a grand parade is held in honor of the Gods and this year is no exception. The yearly "Deities Parade", usually lasting for 5 days, is a grand procession and a sacred spectacle where statues of deities are hoisted by crowds of people along the streets. This year the event was held on Feb 9, in the run-up to the Lantern Festival celebration. It is reported that this year’s parade is the largest and most wide-ranging folk activities of all time in Pingtan.

Chinese New Year will never be the same without dragon dance. Following the grand “Deities Parade”, another grand procession involving 1000 members in traditional costumes from 4 villages brandished a long dragon-shaped lantern, accompanied by beating gongs and drums, on Feb 17 to warm up the celebrations for Lantern Festival.

Town God, or Chenghuang in Mandarin, in a traditional sedan chair touring parts of Pingtan for good luck

Guessing lantern riddles, which is a very popular activity especially for the Lantern Festival, was also hosted in local communities. Like what its name suggests, this is a traditional fun guessing game where riddles are written on lanterns. These riddles are made up of various subjects related not only to hilarious Chinese characters, folk proverbs and idioms, but also to profound general knowledge on etiquette, customs and even laws.

Lantern Festival celebrations are not only about fun, but also about caring for others and giving back to society. Community workers and volunteer groups also take this opportunity to share their love with the vulnerable groups by distributing out "Tangyuans" (or sweet glutinous dumplings which are the must-haves for the festival) to old folks who are poor or sick.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, a variety of celebrations were held not only among the locals, but also among the fellowmen from Taiwan living in Pingtan. A group of Taiwan guests were seen happily joining Haojing Community of Pingtan to celebrate the Lantern Festival, a common tradition across the Straits. They enjoyed Taiwan ethnic dances and guessing lantern riddles together. It was a beautiful scene signifying the "reunion of one big family".

At the evening of the festival, a live broadcast was watched by 480,000 netizens online of a celebration event organized by the cross-Straits Guoxue Center of Pingtan. A group of youths from both sides the Taiwan Straits were invited to join in the celebrations in Haitan Ancient Town, including strolling around the Town, appreciating lantern shows, guessing lantern riddles, making local Pingtan snack "Everlasting Dumplings" and savoring colorful "Tangyuans". How fun for the Lantern Festival celebrations and what a way to end the 15-day-long Chinese Lunar New Year!