The Lotus Lantern Festival in Nanhu Lake, Jiaxing is a traditional folk festival with a long history and characteristics of the Jiangnan water town. According to the Jiaxing City Annals, the old custom in Jiaxing is that the 24th day of the sixth lunar month is the birthday of the lotus, also known as the "birthday of Leizu (Leizu)". On this day, citizens of the city come to visit Nanhu Lake, and they can go to the Leizu Temple (Leizu Temple) in Yanyu Tower to burn incense without paying the ferry fee. There are hundreds of large and small boats gathered in Nanhu Lake. Among the large boats, there are silk net boats, commonly known as "double-clip lanes" and "single-clip lanes", which can provide wine and food. Small boats are covered with awnings and ferry passengers. At night, lotus lanterns are set on the surface of Nanhu Lake, floating on the water, with as many as a thousand. Yanyu Tower provides tea, wine and noodles all night long, and there is also a Kunqu Opera Society on the lake to add to the fun. Boat owners from Wuxi, Suzhou and other places will row their very impressive large silk net boats to Jiaxing a few days in advance. A popular ballad at the time went: "On the 24th of June and the 7th of July, the scenery of Jiaxing is at the Misty Rain Tower. The big ships are parked so densely that the small ships are parked so densely that the water becomes muddy." This lively scene can be seen from the scene. This custom was popular during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. The main activities of the Nanhu Lotus Lantern Festival are: (1) Setting off lotus lanterns. In ancient times, there were three types of lotus lanterns: one was a pink paper lotus with a piece of wood tied underneath and a red candle burning in the middle; the second was a river clam shell as the base with some lamp oil and a wick in the middle and lit; the third was a half watermelon rind as the base with a red candle burning in the middle. These lanterns were placed on the lake and allowed to drift with the waves. In the night, the candlelight and the water shadows were very beautiful. (2) Various folk art performances. (3) Boat trips on the lake to watch the lanterns and listen to Jiangnan string music. (4) Various competitions, such as stepping on a white boat. Since the reform and opening up, the Jiaxing Nanhu Lotus Lantern Festival has been restored. It has been held every year since 2001. During this period, there have been endless activities such as watching lanterns, appreciating lanterns, and releasing lanterns, as well as related folk art activities. It has gradually become an important festival for Jiaxing citizens. The 2006 Nanhu Lotus Lantern Festival was held in Xiaonan Lake. 1,500 pots of lotus became the protagonists of the lantern festival. More than 100 colorful lotus lanterns were distributed everywhere. Citizens can go to the tourist attractions Huijing Garden and the island on the edge of Nanhu for free to watch colorful lanterns and Haining shadow play, and go to Xiaoyingzhou in Nanhu to release lotus lanterns. In addition, a competition for citizens to make lotus lanterns is arranged, and the winners are selected by voting by tourists. There are also activities such as guessing lantern riddles. During the lantern festival, there are tens of thousands of visitors every day. The Jiaxing Nanhu Lotus Lantern Festival has been included in the second batch of Zhejiang Province's intangible cultural heritage list. Information source: Jiaxing Library (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.) Information source: Jiaxing Library (No pictures yet, welcome to provide.)