Chinese Festival Of Lights In Vienna

Luno Festival is coming to Europe for the first time Sept. 1 to Oct. 9. Promoter Wu Fei chose Vienna, Austria, for its reputation as Europe’s cultural capital, the Kurier reports.

Photo: Lighternity Culture Media GmbH

The Luno Chinese festival of lights is coming to Vienna Sept 1 to Oct. 9, with other events in Los Angeles, Houston and Sydney part of its world tour.

Berlin, Paris and London will also host editions going forward. Destinations outside of Europe – Los Angeles, Houston, Sydney – are part of the world tour as well. During the coming six weeks, Vienna’s Donauinsel – an artificial island in the Danube river – is hosting the colorful extravaganza on an area the size of 10 soccer fields.

Fifty Chinese craftsmen and artists spent two months building replicas of famous cultural landmarks, handling 25 kilometers of silk and 20 tons of bamboo and steel. Every day, visitors can experience Chinese music, dance and magic on the main stages, and taste a variety of Chinese foods and drinks. The famous Sichuanese Opera will perform during Luno Festival, and there’s an area dedicated to children as well.

Lantern festivals originated in China during the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), when people lit torches to pray for a rich harvest and fend off animals. In China, the lantern festival concludes the new-year celebrations. – Gideon Gottfried