On the evening of September 27th, a lantern show at Guangzhou Cultural Park was lit up to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the 1950s, the "Mid-Autumn Lantern Show" at Guangzhou Cultural Park, along with the "Spring Festival Flower Fair" and the "Chrysanthemum Fair of Guangzhou", was known as the park's "three major fairs".

Titled "Green and Beautiful Guangzhou with Radiant Lanterns", the current lantern show is officially open to the public from September 29th to October 6th. It features a total of 28 themed lantern groups themed green Guangzhou, Cantonese culture, modern technology and more.

Cantonese lantern groups make an appearance

Upon entering the main gate of Cultural Park, one could be mesmerized by the beautiful lantern group called "Blooming Flowers Write a Splendid Chapter" situated in the central square. This lantern group is the biggest of its kind in the history of the park, spanning 75 meters in width and standing ten meters tall. It showcases exquisite flowers like peonies, kapok, and lotus that can be appreciated from both a distance and up close.

As one walks around the park from the central square, lantern groups with Cantonese elements can be seen everywhere.

The lantern group named "Guochao Cantonese Colors" presents Cantonese opera roles in the form of lovely cartoon dolls, including Sheng (male lead), Dan (female lead), Jing (painted face), Chou (comedy role). If you listen carefully, you will hear classic Cantonese opera tunes playing in the background.

Shaped like Chinese chess, the lantern group "Chinese Traditional Culture Shines in Guangzhou" showcases the profound chess culture of the cultural park. The other group "Memories of Xiguan" portrays an adorable rabbit carrying a colorful rooster on its back that takes small steps and sways.

On the night of trial lighting, many Guangzhou citizens came to take photos. Aunt Chen claimed to be a loyal fan of the park's lantern show. She noticed that this year's lantern groups featured many new elements. For example, she saw adorable pandas and foxes swinging among grass and kapok flowers, which looked very cute. The unique lantern group of Cantonese opera characters was accompanied by Cantonese opera tunes. And the groups of astronauts and robots were full of technological charm.

Scale and quantity of current lantern groups hits new heights

According to Guangzhou Cultural Park, this year's lantern show is oriented towards green, low-carbon, and energy-saving design, materials, and technologies. In the 28 lantern groups exhibited this year, there are large-scale colored lights and nearly two thousand atmospheric lights using energy-saving LED lights to save electricity, all of which hit new records compared to the past levels. 

A record number of materials for making lanterns is also reported this year. Materials such as satin cloth, gauze cloth, sequin cloth, holographic laser cloth, and faux fur cloth are used.

The faux fur cloth makes animals in some lantern groups look more realistic. For example, in the lantern group named "New Chapter of Natural Ecology", there is a furry panda with a big tail and rabbits with fur on their heads and feet. They are vividly shaped and lifelike. Up to eight types of lighting materials are used to make these groups’ shapes and lighting effects more dreamlike.

There are also new breakthroughs in lighting technology, such as the wing-shaped model in the "New Journey of Technological Power" group. This model features a body-sensing interactive device that captures human movements through radar cameras. Visitors can swing their arms to change the lighting effects on the wings of the model.

氛围感拉满！来打卡广州文化公园“中秋灯会”

9月27日晚，广州文化公园“中秋灯会”试亮灯。在20世纪50年代，广州文化公园“中秋灯会”与“迎春花会”“羊城菊会”并称为“三大展览”。

据悉，文化公园2023年“中秋灯会”以“绿美羊城·灯之辉”为主题，正式展出时间为9月29日至10月6日。今年灯会共展出主题灯组28座，有绿美广州、广府文化、现代科技等元素。

广府元素灯组亮相

步入文化公园正门，位于中心广场的《繁花似锦绽华章》灯组映入眼帘。该灯组跨度达75米，高10米，其体量、高度、跨度是文化公园“中秋灯会”灯组中的历年之最，灯组中有牡丹、木棉、莲花等元素，可远观，也可近赏。

从中心广场向公园四周走动，带有广府元素的灯组随处可见。

生、旦、净、丑……《国潮粤色》灯组将粤剧行当以卡通人偶的形式呈现，憨态可掬。仔细听，灯组还配上了经典粤曲，粤韵悠扬。

《国粹耀羊城》灯组以中国象棋为造型，呈现文化公园深厚的棋文化底蕴；《西关记忆》呈现老广记忆中的“鸡公榄”，可爱的兔子把五彩大公鸡套在身上，一步一摇。

试亮灯当晚，不少市民前来“打卡”。陈姨自称是文化公园“中秋灯会”的忠实拥趸，她发现今年灯组出现了不少新元素，“看到小熊猫和小狐狸在草丛和木棉花中摆动，十分可爱；粤剧角色灯组别致，还有粤曲听；太空人、机器人灯组则科技感满满。”

灯组规模及数量为近年之最

广州文化公园相关负责人介绍，灯会在设计创意、材料运用及技术创新上，贯彻“绿色、低碳、节能”的理念。今年灯会展出的28组灯组中，有大型彩灯和近两千盏气氛灯，所展出的灯组规模及数量为近年之最。灯组的灯光全部使用LED节能灯，节约用电量。

今年灯会中，采用的制灯材料种类也创了近年之最，使用了色丁布、纱布、珠片布、幻彩镭射布、仿真皮毛布等布料。

其中，仿真皮毛布使灯组中的动物看起来更逼真。如《自然生态新篇章》灯组中的小熊猫，有着毛茸茸的大尾巴；狐狸的头上、脚上覆盖着绒毛，造型生动可爱、惟妙惟肖。同时使用了多达8种的灯光材料，让灯组的造型和灯光效果更梦幻。

此外，今年的灯会在灯光动技术运用上实现了新突破。比如《科技强国新征程》灯组中间的展翼高飞造型，带有一套体感互动装置。该装置通过雷达摄像头捕捉人体动作，灯组翅膀随着游客双臂摆动而呈现不同的灯光变化。

文｜记者 马思泳 通讯员 荔宣
图｜记者 陈秋明
翻译｜陈萱
责编丨古司祺
校对丨周勇