High-tech boost for light show

The 27-year-old first told her general manager Xu Chong about the idea. The pair then contacted Alibaba before working with its Tmall Genie team to set up the system required to manage the lantern show.

"It's a lot of engineering work but it's worth it as we want to attract more young people to the festival this year," says Xu.

Besides smart controls, projection mapping technology is also being used for the first time at this year's lantern show. This new technology has been used to animate a large lantern installation on a wall of Hefeng Mansion. Themed after the Belt and Road Initiative, the long-scroll lantern features images of historical sites such as the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an in Northwest China's Shaanxi province and the Colosseum in Rome, Italy, which are the start and end of the ancient trade route.

When turned on, the 3D projectors will first project a short animation on the wall. The entire installation is then lit up as the cartoon characters in the projection "jump" into the lantern.

To make this installation a reality, Wan Songtao, the principal designer of the light show, worked with members of Tsinghua University's Academy of Arts and Design. His role involved adjusting the colors and materials to achieve an ideal reflection for the projection.

"I was so excited to see my lantern come to life during the first lighting test," says Wan, who was born in a lantern-making family and has been in this trade for 40 years.

"The technology breathes new life into a tradition that has been around for centuries," he adds.