Zibo lantern makers get into high gear for upcoming festival

With the Lantern Festival fast approaching, lantern expert Li Weidong and his team are now operating at full speed.

They are rushing out a batch of foreign orders in the lantern R&D center in the Zhoucun district of Zibo city – located in East China's Shandong province – to meet the surging demand due to the festival.

An inheritor of Zhoucun lanterns, Li started making them at the age of 14 and has been engaged in it for 40 years.

He fell in love with lanterns when he was a child. At the end of every year at that time, his father would paint lanterns and his mother was responsible for pasting the surfaces of the lanterns with silk.

Li's ancestors created a time-honored brand for their lanterns and Li is the fifth generation. He's been working to promote the innovation of lanterns and has upgraded 40-60 lanterns into various large sets of lights.

Under his influence his son has also became a top maker.

Son, Li Mingye, says it takes great skill to make them and adds that if no-one passes it on, it may disappear over time.

"It's our responsibility to pass on our excellent traditional culture," he said.