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For 2,000 years beginning during the Han dynasty, the Chinese have celebrated the Lunar New Year period with a colourful chinese lantern display.
And right now, that history is being celebrated at the PNE, during Canada’s Largest Chinese Lantern Festival.
35 giant lanterns are currently illuminating 14 acres of Hastings Park, right through the Christmas season and beyond – for the next five weeks, to be exact.
Chinese lantern festivals traditionally begin on the 15th day of the first month of the Chinese calendar to gain the favour of Taiyi, the god of heaven, and pray for a good harvest.
See also
- Vancouver Christmas Market returns to Jack Poole Plaza for 2017
- World’s biggest Christmas light display coming to Vancouver this winter
- Canada's largest Chinese Lantern Festival coming to Vancouver this winter
And if the variety of lights and colours at the East Vancouver event are any indication, the future is looking very bright indeed.
Here are some photos from this year’s festival:
Kenneth Chan / Daily Hive
Vancouver Chinese Lantern Festival 2017
Where: Pacific National Exhibition, Vancouver (entrance at the corner of Renfrew Street and Hastings Street)
When: Friday, December 15, 2017 to Thursday, January 21, 2018
Tickets: Adults (13-64) – $19; Seniors (65+) – $14.50; Children (4-11) – $13.50; Children under 3 years old – free. Nightly performances included.