On the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the first lunar month, both banks of the Qiantang River will be the venue for an unprecedented spectacle of lights and shadows.

According to the city’s Urban Management Bureau, a dual-act light show themed “Overture to Spring” and “Lantern Festival Lights” will make its dazzling debut on the evening of March 3. The show will run twice, promptly at 18:30 and 19:30, with each performance lasting approximately 15 minutes. Specially structured into three segments, it creates an immersive light-and-shadow narrative for residents and tourists—“First encounter spring, then celebrate the Lantern Festival, and finally return to spring.”

The “Lantern Festival Lights” centers on the theme of “wholeness,” i.e. a skillful blend of traditional Chinese connotations of reunion and digital art. Colorful tangyuan (glutinous rice balls) dance dynamically between buildings, transforming into specks of flowing light sprinkling onto the river surface; golden points of light swirl and flutter, precisely replicating the brilliant moment of the intangible cultural heritage “iron flower” performance; and amidst stirring drumbeats, awakening lions gather and golden rays will bloom, converging into a shimmering “Happy Lantern Festival,” delivering the warmth of reunion to our households.

The “Overture to Spring” runs with the “spring tide” as a thread, weaving through three realms of nature, culture, and spirit. From the vivid imagery of seeds quietly taking root and sprouting in the light and a golden deer pausing by a spring tree, to the faintly visible figures of tea pickers among the Longjing tea rows, and then to kites dancing across the sky as the spring scenery of Jixian Pavilion and Taiziwan unfolds in sequence, the entire light show resembles a flowing Song-dynasty spring scroll. It poses the question “What is spring?” through lights and shadows, offering a poetic visual answer.

The Urban Management Bureau says the venue will be alive with crowds, and therefore it is advised to arrive early to secure a good viewing spot. Regarding optimal viewing experiences, the City Balcony is ideal for an up-close, immersive appreciation of the Lantern Festival theme, while the Olympic Sports Expo Center and the waterfront of Qianjiang Century City offer broader panoramic vistas.