A laser light show on the world's tallest building on Jan 29 celebrating one of China's most significant festivals, Spring Festival. The show lasted for two days. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
"The light show was excellent. It offered a chance to learn more about Chinese culture," said Mark Brennan, a tourist from Ireland, under Dubai's iconic Burj Khalifa, which was illuminated in "China Red" to send warm greetings to the world.
Brennan was among the thousands of spectators who witnessed the laser light show on the world's tallest building on Jan 29. The show, which ran for two days, celebrated one of China's most significant festivals - Spring Festival.
During this time, many towers and skyscrapers worldwide were simultaneously illuminated with red lights in response to an invitation from the Shanghai municipality to commemorate the first Spring Festival since UNESCO listed the celebration in its World Cultural Heritage inventory.
The initiative received active support from the World Federation of Great Towers (WFGT) and the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH).
Skyscrapers and landmark buildings in locations including New York, Chicago and Dallas in the United States, Vancouver in Canada, Singapore, Tokyo in Japan, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Barcelona in Spain and Bucharest in Romania all participated. Some locations also hosted special activities to celebrate the festival.
Two iconic landmarks in Shanghai, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Shanghai Tower, took the lead in lighting up in Chinese red on Jan 28, the day before Chinese New Year. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
Two iconic landmarks in Shanghai, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Shanghai Tower, took the lead in lighting up in Chinese red on Jan 28, the day before Chinese New Year.
As the third tallest building in the world, the Shanghai Tower was adorned with red lanterns and ribbons. Its spire displayed scrolling greetings such as "Happy Spring Festival" and "The World Lights Up in Chinese Red" in both Chinese and English.
In collaboration with the skyscraper cluster in Lujiazui, Pudong New Area, the two landmarks will remain illuminated in red until Feb 4. On the same day, the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore also lit up in Chinese red and will continue to do so until the Lantern Festival on Feb 12.
Tokyo Tower also donned a red coat on Chinese New Year's Eve, with 2025 balloons featuring Chinese pandas and Japanese anime characters released into the sky to symbolize the global community's hopeful expectations for the New Year.
The Empire State Building in New York City shone red on the night of Jan 28 in celebration of Chinese New Year. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]
The Empire State Building and the One World Trade Center, two of New York city's iconic landmarks, also shone red on the night of Jan 28. The Empire State Building has done so for 25 consecutive years to celebrate Chinese New Year.
"We are delighted to see the Empire State Building serve as a bridge for American friends to better understand Chinese culture, which highlights the importance of people-to-people exchanges in promoting friendship between our two countries," said China's Consul General in New York, Chen Li. He made the remarks while jointly unveiling a window exhibition with Jean-Yves Ghazi, president of the Empire State Building Observatory, at the Fifth Avenue lobby to celebrate Chinese New Year.
The window exhibition, featuring exhibits related to the Year of the Snake according to the Chinese zodiac, will run for several weeks.
Mingmei Li in New York contributed to this story.
