Lanterns light up Zhouzhuang, enchanting intl visitors

As dusk settled over Zhouzhuang Ancient Town on Sept 16, a hush fell over the crowd gathered along the streets. Then, all at once, hundreds of lanterns lit up, bathing the ancient streets and waterways in a warm glow. A collective gasp rose from the international visitors standing among the locals.

For Zhigalina Kseniia from Russia, it was one of those travel moments that etch themselves into memory. "Today I got to experience real Chinese culture," she said. "The lanterns are so beautiful, but the most unforgettable thing was the show."

The lighting ceremony marked the opening of this year's Kunshan Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival, one of the city's major seasonal cultural celebrations. Zhouzhuang, one of the festival's two core lantern zones alongside Huiju Square, will keep its lights on from 6 pm to 10:30 pm every evening until Oct 31.

For the group, however, the lighting ceremony was only the beginning. They wandered through the illuminated lanes and along the waterways, where warm light bathed traditional architecture. By the river, performers presented traditional dances, while musicians appeared in windows on the upper floors of old buildings, playing traditional Chinese instruments for passing visitors. At Nanhu Bay, a spectacular water-screen light show added another dimension to the evening, combining light, imagery, and the surrounding waters in a dazzling nighttime display.

Rather than watching performances from a fixed seat, visitors encountered them as they explored the town, with the historic streets and waterways themselves becoming part of the stage.

The enchantment began hours earlier at the immersive theater production Only Zhouzhuang. The show breaks from the conventions of traditional stage drama and weaves Song Dynasty (960-1279) aesthetics with digital technology to tell a deeply personal story of homecoming and belonging.

For Federica Signorini from the United Kingdom, the story struck a particularly intimate chord. "It's an incredible personal story that, as a foreigner living in China, really resonates with me," she said. "Because it's about finding your home in a place where your heart can be at peace."

Perhaps this is what makes the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival in Zhouzhuang Ancient Town more than a nighttime light display: it brings together the aesthetics of traditional Chinese culture, the character of a historic water town, and contemporary forms of tourism and entertainment.