The cultural charm of the Chinese Lantern Festival is vividly displayed on the Central Plains land of Henan. As the birthplace of Lantern Festival customs, Henan's millennium-old cultural accumulation makes the celebration here not just a festival, but a living embodiment of Chinese culture.

A bowl of yuanxiao (sweet glutinous rice dumplings) represents the Chinese people's deep longing for family reunion. Evolving from the earliest prototypes—known as "fen tuan" in Luoyang—to the method of making filled dumplings by rolling, which was named in Kaifeng, the craft of making yuanxiao in the Central Plains has been passed down through generations, carrying the beautiful wish for a "perfect full moon and family reunion." Today, Henan remains a core production area for yuanxiao nationwide. The sweet, soft filling wrapped inside embodies a folk custom passed down for over a thousand years.

"Lanterns illuminating the past and present" form the most touching cultural scenery of Henan's Lantern Festival. In Henan TV's "Wonderful Tour of the Lantern Festival," colorful lanterns in Song Dynasty streets and alleys are lit one by one. Ancient customs like wearing flowers on hairpins and making spring banners are vividly recreated, bringing to life the poetic imagery of the "lantern-lit late night" of the Shangyuan Festival. Furthermore, the fusion of Kucha music and dance with Central Plains dance, and the harmony of the Jie drum with zither music, recreate the civilizational fusion along the Silk Road, fully showcasing the inclusiveness of Chinese culture.

The thunderous drumbeats along the banks of the Yellow River add a touch of heroic grandeur to the cultural richness of Henan's Lantern Festival. Drum performances amidst the mountains and rivers of the Central Plains blend the beauty of nature with traditional Chinese instrumental music, conveying auspicious hopes for the new spring and manifesting the Chinese spirit nurtured by the culture of the Central Plains.

Henan's Lantern Festival holds within it the cultural warmth of everyday life. Here, the millennia-old cultural lineage has never been broken; instead, it has transformed into the warm and lively atmosphere of daily life. This allows the charm of Chinese culture to be passed down through generations amidst lantern-lit nights and family reunions.

Web editors: Shen Jianqi, Li Siyao