The Great Wall of China has been transformed into a luminous spectacle for the Spring Festival, hosting a major lantern and performance event aimed at boosting winter tourism. From February 16 to 22, night tours operated between South Tower 4 and North Tower 4, illuminating the historic stone fortifications with over 1,000 lanterns from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The programme, which continues until February 28, features performers dancing along the Great Wall Cultural Street towards Guancheng Platform, blending traditional Yanqing cultural routines with contemporary elements like robotic lion dances and short excerpts of Peking Opera.
Organisers state the initiative is designed specifically to attract visitors during the traditionally quiet winter season, diversifying the tourism calendar beyond the peak summer months. Tickets were distributed exclusively through the WeChat mobile platform, reflecting China’s widespread adoption of digital payment and booking systems. Despite sub-zero temperatures, the event drew large crowds for its opening, marking a vibrant start to the lunar new year period with a bright, bustling atmosphere along the iconic UNESCO World Heritage site.
This cultural fusion highlights a strategic approach to heritage site management, integrating deeply rooted local traditions—such as the lion dance, a staple of Chinese New Year celebrations believed to ward off evil spirits—with modern technology and performance art. The choice of Yanqing, a district of Beijing known for its historical significance and the hosting of cultural street events, underscores a focus on regional specificity within the national Spring Festival framework.
The Spring Festival, or Chinese New Year, is the most important traditional holiday in China, typically triggering the world’s largest annual human migration as families reunite. Historically, tourist sites like the Great Wall see a sharp decline in visitors after the summer. By creating a signature winter event, authorities in Yanqing and Beijing are attempting to counter this seasonal downturn, promote cultural appreciation during the holiday period, and stimulate local economic activity in hospitality and retail sectors.
The event’s reliance on WeChat for ticket sales demonstrates the integration of super-apps into public event management, a common practice in China that streamlines access and data collection. The enthusiastic public turnout despite the cold suggests successful marketing and strong local appetite for novel festive experiences at nationally symbolic locations.
The programme’s extension until February 28 provides a sustained window for both domestic and international tourists to engage with this unique offering. Such initiatives are part of broader efforts by Chinese tourism boards to reposition cultural landmarks as year-round destinations, using seasonal events to showcase intangible cultural heritage in dynamic formats. The success of this lantern and performance series may influence future programming at other heritage sites seeking to balance preservation with contemporary audience engagement and off-season revenue generation.
