QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) – It’s never been seen in New York City.
It’s a twinkling Chinese lantern festival so large that it has taken over two parking lots at Citi Field.
The Tianyu Lights Festival is a Chinese tradition that celebrates light, color, and community.
It’s a Wonderland of magic forests, flowers, spiders, dragons, crocodiles, and so much more.
“Tian in Chinese means the sky, and yu means brightest star,” Huiyuan Liu, Tianyu Lights Festival organizer, told PIX11 News. “We hired a gaming company to design a gaming experience for our visitors. Everything you see inside is nothing you would see in reality. So it gives an opportunity to put our imagination into play,” Liu added.
On opening night, hundreds explored the interactive light installations and exhibits, played games with a couple of panda bears, or made music on a bamboo xylophone.
Some were dancing for joy as they discovered the beauty of this hand-painted polyester over wire frame lanterns, so breathtaking to view and touch.
“I think it’s pretty beautiful,” Qasim Muhammad, a lantern festival visitor, told PIX11 News. “It has a lot of color sparkling and wonderful for the children,” he added.
People of all ages and ethnicities appeared to be enthralled by this first-time-ever in New York City Tianyu Lights Festival, where tickets range in price from $22-$35 per person.
“I love this one because I love flowers,” Thancha Sutchari, a visitor who brought her husband and two children to the light festival, told PIX11 News. “And the kids love it,” she added.
“It’s amazing. It has so many lights, and it’s bigger than I thought,” Sky Sutchari, 6 years old, told PIX11 News.
“It’s a magical experience,” Kendra Heron, a visitor who brought her whole family, including her 3-year-old son, told PIX11 News. “It’s something you should do for yourself and your family. It’s just perfect for the holidays,” she added.
The Tianyu Lights Festival runs until January 19th.
