On the evening of August 19, the Qixi (七夕) holiday, lanterns went out on the water in Changning County (长宁县) for the 2026 Wen’an Culture River Lantern Festival. From 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., the grounds around Jin’ao Bridge (金鳌桥) in Jiehu Village (介湖村), Shuanghe Town (双河镇), became a Hanfu garden party with river-lantern prayers, a lotus banquet and a five-stall folk-game market.
The festival, run under the theme “Jin’ao Lights and a Magpie-Bridge Galaxy,” was organized by the Shuanghe Town Party Committee and town government, with the Jiehu Village Committee handling operations. Visitors could rent adult and children’s Hanfu at the site, both men’s and women’s cuts, and wear them through the whole evening.
Four themed photo scenes spread across the site. At the head of Jin’ao Bridge, an archway recreated the magpie bridge of the Qixi legend with glowing vine lights, magpie-shaped lamps and sheer gauze curtains. On the square, a wall of stacked paper lanterns rose against strings of star lights, topped by illuminated characters spelling “Jin’ao.” Along the riverside walkway, bamboo weaving, hemp rope and lanterns framed an open-air riverside set, with oil-paper umbrellas, round fans and antique-style masks provided as props. A pavilion by the bridge stele carried display boards on the bridge’s century-long history and its heritage-protection value.
Dinner at the fete was a lotus banquet of Jiehu Village home dishes at 20 yuan per person, with seats limited and reservations taken at 13730758468 (Ms. Zhang). On arrival, guests signed a scroll-style check-in board and picked up a free river-lantern DIY kit plus a wristband coded by color: red for couples, blue for singles, yellow for families. Instructors taught lantern assembly and hand-painting on site — families painted portraits together, couples wrote shared wishes, singles wrote prayers for safety.
The opening rite, “Jin’ao Blessing: Classical Grace,” began with a lantern dance, followed by a Hanfu-clad prayer leader who recited a blessing from the bridge while the crowd stood in silence, guzheng and bamboo-flute music playing in the background. Afterward, five game stalls ringed the square: the Matchmaker God’s draw-and-match booth with three colored lots, a blind-box riddle corner themed on Qixi and the bridge, a lantern-blessing booth for three-character wishes, a ring-toss booth with blessing posts for safety, completeness and wealth, and a Qiqiao (乞巧) needle-threading station. Collecting stamps from all five stalls earned a free gift; Hanfu-wearing guests who finished any two games got a rose; and guests who photographed all four scenes and shared the post received an antique-style round fan.
A Hanfu runway show opened the stage program, followed by folk music and couple duets, building to a group blessing chant. Lantern release followed in batches — families first, then couples, then singles — as the paper boats drifted downstream against the lit bridge. A group photo closed the night with the whole crowd framed by the glowing bridge and the lantern-flecked water.
Attendance was free with no registration required. Organizers advised arriving early because materials were limited, noted that life jackets and water patrols were stationed near the release area, and suggested wearing Neo-Chinese or light-colored clothing for night photos.