Hanging lanterns is an important activity to celebrate China's Lunar New Year. Every year during the Spring Festival, a lantern showcase is held in Shanghai's Yuyuan Garden that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors.

The Garden's showcase has a long history. Wang Tao, a Chinese commentator from the 19th century, once wrote in a book about the showcase. "Since the beginning of the first day of the lunar calendar, lanterns of various shapes and sizes are hung in Yuyuan Garden. Countless visitors stroll along the streets, extremely happy and excited to look at the lanterns. Some rich families will hang about 300 lanterns for the Spring Festival."

The activity gradually faded away until 1979, when Yuyuan Garden brought back the lantern showcase. Visiting the Garden to look at the lanterns has since returned as a favorite holiday pastime for many people. As one of the most important festival activities in Shanghai during the Spring Festival, the Yuyuan Lantern Showcase now attracts millions of people from all around the world and is on Shanghai's intangible cultural heritage list.

The showcase officially opens to the public on the first day of the lunar calendar and lasts for 15 days until the night of the Lantern Festival. The price of entry is fixed at 30 yuan for adults and 2 yuan for children. According to the organizer of the showcase, nearly 400,000 people came to look at the lanterns last year.