My CIIE Story ? Great Opportunity: Zigong lanterns brighten up the CIIE

Editor's Note: The fifth China International Import Expo will open in less than a month. In October, several participants of the CIIE will tell their stories themed around "great opportunity" to showcase the positive changes the expo has made to the world and how it has helped build a community with a shared future for mankind over the past five years.

Zigong lanterns originated in Zigong, Southwest China's Sichuan province around 1,000 years ago. They have been displayed in more than 80 countries and regions around the world over the past decades and have earned a reputation for their delicate designs, brilliant lights, and beautiful sounds.

The Zigong government signed a cooperation agreement with the China International Import Expo Bureau in June 2020 to showcase the lanterns at that year's third expo. It was only four months until the opening of the expo and as the manager of the project, I felt both pressure and excitement.

As the CIIE is a major platform to show Chinese culture to the world, I wanted to make lanterns that are distinctive in size, materials, and technique, as well as combine traditional and contemporary elements.

I held a meeting with more than 20 industry experts from Guangdong province, Shandong province and the Taiwan region and we finally decided to use copper to make the main body of lanterns. We also employed various traditional techniques, including enamel, embroidery, inner painting, cloisonne and jade carving, to adorn them.

To finish the artworks in time, our designers and artisans had to stay in the workshop for more than two months. Despite the hot weather, they made every detail perfect. We also worked with companies in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces to carry out repeated tests to ensure the lanterns met the safety standards of the CIIE.