China marks quiet Lantern Festival in anti-virus fight
China on Saturday marked a quiet Lantern Festival as cities canceled the otherwise jam-packed lantern shows, and many Chinese chose to avoid crowds to reduce infection risks during the novel coronavirus outbreak.
This year's Lantern Festival also saw many of China's migrant population, who work in cities far away from hometowns, celebrate a long family reunion, after businesses, factories and institutes across China allowed their employees to postpone travels and enjoy an extended Spring Festival holiday at home.
Shanghai's iconic Yuyuan Garden lantern fair said its lanterns will remain lit but closed to the public on Saturday evening. The luminous yet empty garden will instead be broadcasted online to send prayers for the nation and those at the frontlines of the epidemic, according to its organizers.
Lantern puzzles will also be moved online and contain knowledge on epidemic prevention control, the organizers said.
In Fuzhou, capital of eastern China's Fujian Province, all lantern shows, temple fairs and firework displays were canceled, and many scenic spots remained closed to discourage mass gatherings.
The Riverside Avenue, one host venue of the city's lantern shows, looked deserted with few cars and pedestrians.
In Quanzhou, the most populous city in Fujian, banners and posters were hung on temples announcing the cancelation of ancestral worship activities, a tradition followed by many local villages during the Lantern Festival.
"We understand now is the critical time for epidemic prevention and control. Our village has asked the heads of local clans to inform each family. Now all of the 21 ancestral temples have been closed before the festival," said Wu Jianguo, party chief of the Qingmeng Village in Quanzhou's Chidian Town.
The Taer Monastery, a prominent Tibetan Buddhist monastery in northwest China's Qinghai Province, also canceled a grand gathering scheduled for the festival as part of the epidemic control efforts.
The gathering, meant to celebrate the full moon, normally attracts about 200,000 visitors every year.
The Lantern Festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month, is an important occasion for family reunions in China. Chinese families usually spend the day eating sweet dumplings and attending lantern fairs where they can win prizes by solving puzzles attached to the lanterns.
Health experts and officials continued to advice Chinese to stay home and avoid crowds as the country works to contain the outbreak. Mass gatherings and increased outdoor activities during the Lantern Festival and afterward, they warn, would risk scuttling previous quarantine efforts.