Zigong City in southwest China's Sichuan Province has a long-standing history of making lanterns. And the annual lantern show there boasts the number one light show in all of the world. Does it live up to its reputation? Tao Yuan takes you there to find out.

Light, anywhere in the world, is a symbol of civilization, warmth, and hope.

But few places put on a dazzling spectacle flashier than Zigong.

The annual lantern show here around the Lunar New Year has become a name card for the city in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

SHEN HONGYUE President, Zigong Lantern Industry Association "Lantern shows epitomize our Spring Festival folk culture. It has always been an expression of people's pursuit of a better life. By watching the lantern shows, we can really get a flavor of the New Year, and at the same time experience our profound history and splendid culture."

Lanterns like this one would've been enough to wow our ancestors.

Now though, let your imagination run wild, from life-size pagodas, to dinosaurs lighting up the night sky, to a 26-meter-tall moving Mecha rabbit celebrating the zodiac year.

SHEN HONGYUE, President Zigong Lantern Industry Association "It's called the 'Thousand Lantern Cute Rabbit.' It's very modern in style and it might well be the largest rabbit in the country. So, you can see, throughout the years, Zigong Lantern artisans have never stopped to innovate. Small lights became lights, and static lights became moving lights that tell a story."

TAO YUAN Zigong, Sichuan "Zigong has more than 1,000 years of history of lantern-making. It made its name as the 'city of a thousand lights.' To be fair though, there are more than a thousand, many more. During the Lantern Festival, practically every corner of every street in the city lit up with lights of all colors, shapes, and forms."

It's one of the city's most important industries, employing 100,000 people.

Craftsmen still make lanterns the age-old way, mostly by hand.

Welders bend the wires in all shapes imaginable. Electricians wire away. Artisans cover it up with cloth and paint it over. Not even the catchlight in the eyes is overlooked. And there you have it, a half-finished rabbit, almost ready to hop in the grass.

YI CHENGHAO Zigong City Dragon Culture & Art Co., Ltd. "Lantern culture has roots in many parts of China. What makes our Zigong lantern stand out is its pliability. We have a saying, 'there are only things you can't think of, and not things we can't make.' Anything and everything can be made into a lantern. And because of this quality, our lights are able to travel out of the country, to tell colorful stories from modern China."

And around the holiday season, that story comes with a big smile on everyone's face. Tao Yuan, CGTN, Zigong, Sichuan Province.