Numbers of visitors to Nanjing’s Confucius Temple yesterday have been put at a quarter million. But while it all went off without a hitch, this year’s en-masse descent upon Fuzimiao was for many a bonding of families and those held close.
“Lively” and “orderly” were the words used in media reports today to describe the scene yesterday evening at Nanjing’s Confucius Temple as the annual ritual that is the Qinhuai Lantern Festival reached its crescendo.
But before that, at around 14:00 on 5 February, organisers of this year’s Festival were becoming agitated. Camped out in the Festival headquarters on the second floor of the Qinhuai Gift Store in Fuzimiao, personnel from multiple city departments were on standby.
Staring at the monitors, traffic was building up at the Confucius Temple entrance on Pingjiangfu Lu. In place were also more than 400 volunteers to assist public security and traffic police.
Along the roads leading to Fuzimiao, temporary security points had been erected roughly every 200 metres, under which stood a firefighter, a patrol officer and an armed police officer.
Electronic signage on such routes and by the scenic spot’s main intersections assisted by indicating the direction of one-way traffic, exit points, etc.
By 16:00, a long queue had formed at the entrance of the East Memorial Archway entrance to Fuzimiao. Local citizens and tourists alike stood waiting, accompanied by the soundtrack; “Please show your reservation code to enter the scenic spot”.
Volunteers stationed at such points kept reminding everyone to pay attention to safety, as Nanjing Daily reports. They also faced a barrage of questions; “Which entrances can we use?”, “Where can I make a reservation?”, and so on.
This year’s Qinhuai Lantern Festival is the first to be held since COVID was declared a Class B medical concern. As such, despite traffic control measures, the enthusiasm from all walks of life to come and see the lanterns could not be dampened.
“My parents came to Nanjing this year. [I want] to take them to feel the atmosphere of the Qinhuai Lantern Festival”, said Chen Luyi. No sooner had he scanned the reservation code for his family and entered, he was snapping away at the lanterns hanging under the Memorial Archway.
By the leisurely flow of the Qinhuai River, the roads became crowded as night fell, leaving throngs of locals and tourists to walk amid the spectacle of red light.
Li Jiawei came from Hubei Province to visit Laomendong with several friends. “I have heard about the Qinhuai Lantern Festival forever; the atmosphere I feel today is really wonderful!”, he said with a smile. Reminded that it was best to choose public transport on this day, he and his friends booked tickets in advance and rode shared bikes to the venue.
Once a year, this sea of lanterns becomes the most captivating place in Nanjing. In 2023, with COVID not quite a memory, the Nanjing Qinhuai Lantern Festival has regained its vitality, summed up in one word; “reunion”.
