The inaugural Zigong Lantern Global Children's Creativity Solicitation Activity was launched at the World of Chinese Lantern in Zigong city, Sichuan province, marked by a vibrant ceremony featuring songs and dances held at the tourist site on June 1.
Themed "Fulfilling Dreams through Zigong Lantern," the activity, sponsored by the Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival's organizing committee, will invite lantern design ideas from children worldwide over the coming months.
To engage global audiences in the 30th Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival next year, the organizing committee plans to collect creative lantern design paintings through the activity. Artisans will then bring these designs to life as lanterns at the upcoming festival.
"We expect to stimulate children's enthusiasm towards intangible cultural heritage," said Jiang Hong, a lantern designer from Zigong, during the launch ceremony. Xiong Biao, a keeper of the Zigong lantern - a recognized element of intangible cultural heritage, stated that children's creative ideas are crucial for a significant leap in design. Moreover, he encouraged more youth to participate in preserving this traditional art.
From June 1 to Aug. 10, the activity will gather ideas from children aged 3 to 14, focusing on the themes of dragons and dinosaurs. This is because 2024 is the Year of the Dragon, the fifth of the 12 Chinese zodiac animals, and Zigong is famous for its numerous dinosaur fossils. The submitted works will undergo three rounds of appraisal from Aug. 11 to Sept. 30. Supplementary promotional activities, such as demonstrating the lantern-making process based on creative ideas, will also take place from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31. The award ceremony is scheduled to occur at the opening of the 30th Zigong International Dinosaur Lantern Festival next year.
