Lantern Festival celebrations span the Straits

The switch-on ceremony of the 16th Mawei-Matsu Lantern Festival was held in Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian province last Sunday night, five days ahead of the Lantern Festival.

China's Lantern Festival, which falls on March 2 this year, is considered as the curtain-closer for Spring Festival. Every year, people in Mawei district - in Fujian - and Matsu Island in Taiwan have been sharing the holiday spirit by jointly launching a lantern show and switching lanterns across the Strait.

This year, a total of 53 sets of lanterns were lit up at Fuzhou's East Riverside Park, attracting more than 10,000 local residents to come and admire it on the first night.

The lanterns, designed in different shapes and styles, featured Mawei's achievements over the past five years, the cross-Straits strong ties as well as the Spring Festival celebrations, stretching along a one-km-long street in the park.

Meanwhile, 35 sets of intricately-designed lanterns will make their way from Mawei to Matsu on Tuesday along with some local folk customs performances like the Fujian Opera.

According to the event's organizing committee, the lanterns to be sent to Matsu integrate some local folk beliefs and customs and express Mawei people's best wishes for the compatriots living on the island.

This gesture of cross-Strait friendship was initiated in 2003. It also marks the first national intangible cultural heritage co-application by the mainland and Taiwan.