Feature: Thousands of Chinese lanterns glow in 400-year-old British stately home

A total of 23,000 colorful lanterns will feature as part of a winter wonderland at a 400-year-old British stately home in Wiltshire, southwest England on Friday evening.

The lanterns to be exhibited at the Festival of Light at Longleat House were made by a team of over 100 craftsmen from Zigong City, southwestern Sichuan Province, known as the "birthplace of Chinese lanterns."

The team of more than 100 craftsmen designed, crafted, built, painted and lifted 24 giant displays into place throughout the grounds of Longleat House.

Themes of each display include the legend of the Monkey King, Chinese Zodiac, Silk Road, dragon boat, panda's paradise, Terracotta Warriors.

Organized by Longleat House and VYA Creative Lantern Co., Ltd, the festival is composed of 23,000 individual lanterns, which used more than 18 km of silk, 20 km of LED lights and 76 tonnes of steel.

One of the splendid displays, a 20-meter-tall pagoda, a simulation of southwestern Yunnan Province's Manfeilong Pagoda, was created by using 80,000 hand-made ceramic cups, bowls, spoons, plates. It is virtually the same height as the original.

Ceawlin Thynn, Viscount Weymouth of Longleat, said around 150,000 visitors came to the festival last year. The festival was warmly welcomed by local residents and so far, the number of presale tickets reached 80,000.

Huang Dechun, president of VYA Creative Lantern Co., Ltd, told Xinhua the reason behind displaying so many China-related themes was public demand. Audiences demanded to watch more traditional Chinese culture.

"So we chose some Chinese characters, such as Monkey King and Terracotta Warriors, which were widely known by westerners and could also portray Chinese culture," Huang said.

He said the festival would continue next year, and that they were discussing the theme of next year. The company will hold more lantern events in some European countries as well. Endit