China Lights is Back to Dazzle Viewers

For the second year in a row, Chinese artisans bring the China Lights to the Boerner Botanical Gardens in Whitnall Park. The technical staff from Sichuan Tianyu, Zigong, China are responsible for the creation and design of the “China Lights”. This event celebrates the art, skill, and the beauty of Chinese religion through breathtaking light exhibits displaying their culture.

Junior Araceli Mendoza enjoyed her visit there. “My experience at the China Lights was incredible! It was my first time ever going to see the lights. The displays surpassed my expectations,” she said.

Lighting lanterns has been a tradition in China since centuries ago. Lantern festivals took place at the beginning of the Han Dynasty. The Chinese lit fireworks and lanterns the 15th day of their first month to pray for good harvest and fortune, as part of their tradition.

Now the Chinese celebrate their religion by sharing these traditions. The festival, the China Lights, displays and expresses their religion to others in admirable ways. For example, pandas, dragons, and elephants, are all astonishing exhibits found in their culture displayed at the event. In addition to this, most displays have a description of the different animals from their culture.

The China Lights attracted over 100,000 people last year, and is expected to attract even more this year. The light show runs approximately ¾ miles long in the Boerner Botanical Gardens. All parking lots are filled to their maximum capacity, streets are blocked off, and people were walking about a mile from where they parked. Greendale residents even charged people to park in their driveways. The China Lights will be extended to Oct. 29 due to the large number of people still wanting to come.

The China Lights takes two months to build and prepare for with about 50 exhibits composed of over 1,000 components that are welded and painted together. The lights are all LED, creating a more colorful and visually bright experience.

“China Lights was beautiful and so cool to see. There were some amazing lights and there were so many cool acts to show all the culture. I was wowed by how big some of the displays were, such as the dragon,” junior Mari Williams said.

People spend about 1-2 hours walking through the exhibits with fascinated expressions, and some people take up to 200 pictures at the event.

Performances also help create a larger understanding of their culture. For example, last year, there were skilled acrobats and dancers performing for a large audience. The performers are dressed in clothing originated from China, displaying common clothing there.

In addition to the astonishing lights and performances, “there are cultural displays, a marketplace, food and beverages, and activities for children,” according to Chinalights.org.