Vancouver Chinese Lantern Festival has become another winter attraction of the city, featuring over 30 light displays and a few cultural performances at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). It is a family-friendly event dedicated to Chinese culture and art. The attraction is open Sundays to Thursdays from 5 pm to 10 pm and on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 pm to 11 pm.
Visitors will see huge 60-m (200-ft) illuminated lanterns, vendors selling Chinese food delights, a marketplace and lots of children’s activities. Light displays include giant pandas, a dragon, a Chinese pagoda, and Confucius with his disciples. Cultural performances are held every evening in the PNE Amphitheatre. Show acts include folk dances, erhu music, plate spinners, and acrobatics.
In China, lantern festivals are held on the fifteenth day of the first month of the Chinese calendar. They are lit to please Taiyi, god of heaven, so that he could grant an abundant harvest and prosperity.
