The 9th Chinese Lantern Riddle Cultural Festival will take place in Changsha between August 10 and 12.

According to the organizing committee, a large riddle-guessing activity will be held on the outdoor square of the Changsha Mass Art Center on the evening of August 10. An award ceremony, a closing ceremony, and a flag handover ceremony will be arranged on the afternoon of August 12. A series of Changsha folk handicrafts will be exhibited on the first floor of the center during the festival.

Forty-two lantern riddle teams, as well as over 160 guests and contestants from the USA, Singapore, Malaysia, and China's Taiwan and Hong Kong SAR will participate in the event.

An array of activities will be organized, including:
-- an international lantern riddle contest;
-- a large public riddle-guessing event;
-- a lantern riddle creation contest themed on "Beautiful Changsha";
-- a call for papers on Changsha lantern riddles and local culture;
-- a call for papers on evaluation and analysis of Changsha lantern riddles; and,
-- a seminar on Changsha lantern riddles and local culture.

The Chinese Lantern Riddle Cultural Festival is the largest top-level Chinese lantern riddle competition with the highest level of contestants and the most far-reaching influence. It is known as the "Olympics" in the lantern riddle circle.

The festival is hosted by the Chinese Lantern Riddle Association, Hunan Folk Literature and Art Association, Changsha Municipal Bureau of Culture, Tourism, Radio, and Television, and Changsha Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and organized by the Changsha Mass Art Center and Changsha Folk Literature and Art Association.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunantoday