A festive lantern made from 2,800 volcanic rocks has lit up an ongoing lantern show in Datong City, north China's Shanxi Province.
The lantern, in the shape of a tower, stands 5.35 meters high and weighs 3.8 tonnes. It aims to shine some light on this year's upcoming Lantern Festival on March 2.
The local craftsmen used 2,800 volcanic rocks and spent two years building the lantern. It consists of 13 floors, each of which is engraved with delicate images such as the ancient town of Datong.
"The lantern is an imitation of a wanghuo," said Liu Jian, designer of the lantern. A wanghuo is a tower of coal briquettes. Local people burn the coal tower during Spring Festival to symbolize prosperity in the next year.
In order to reduce air pollution, the custom has been banned in Datong, so craftsmen came up with the idea of building an electric festive lantern with volcanic rocks to represent a similar meaning to the Wanghuo.
According to Liu, volcanic rocks are rarely used in traditional festive lantern.
Lantern Festival falls on the first full moon of the new lunar year. The day also marks the end of the Spring Festival celebrations.
