Jiang Guanghong, a master lantern artisan and director of the Innovation Center at Tianyu Arts & Culture, helps bring the displays to life. In an interview with KUNR, conducted through translator Jessie Li, the company’s head of business development, Jiang described the cultural significance behind the lanterns.
“For the lantern itself, it was used to celebrate during special festivals such as Chinese New Year and other traditional celebrations, and it has actually more than 800 years of history,” Jiang said through Li.
In Chinese tradition, lanterns symbolize reunion and blessing. Today, Jiang said, the displays also offer a way to share that heritage with audiences around the world.
“By bringing lanterns to the world, we hope more people can see this kind of traditional handicraft, feel the joy and happiness they carry, and use this tradition as a way of communication,” he said.
Creating the displays requires more than assembling lights and decorations. Artisans and other teams collaborate throughout the process, from visiting the exhibition site to preparing the final installations, Jiang said.
Once the lanterns arrive in the United States, the team can make adjustments to suit the local landscape.
The Dragon Lights Festival debuted in Reno in 2018. Each year brings new designs, and feedback from visitors helps guide the creative process, Jiang said.
This fall, the festival features several interactive installations. One includes a robotic “cactus man” that moves and talks when visitors approach. Another features a live chat screen that allows festivalgoers in Reno to communicate with audiences at a festival in another city.
For Jiang, the festival’s most important connection may be one that does not require translation.
“We realize that sometimes happiness is beyond language,” he said. “Our artisans speak Chinese and don’t know English, but from visitors’ faces, their thumbs-up and their gestures, they can feel that people really enjoy the lantern festival and are happy when they visit.”
The Dragon Lights Festival runs through Nov. 29.
