A lantern festival held in Ningxi town, Taizhou's Huangyan district attracted tens of thousands of visitors on Feb 21.

Slated to run until Feb 25, the festival is an annual event celebrated on Longtaitou Day, or Dragon Heads-raising Day, which falls on the second day of the second lunar month. The festival has a history that dates back about 800 years to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).

It is said that Ningxi deliberately put off the event to the day in an attempt to learn from the events staged in other places to mark the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month and provide another opportunity for the people to admire lanterns in the town.

Apart from lantern shows, the event also features various folk activities related to singing, dancing, opera and acrobatics.

This year, a temporary market featuring car boot sales was set up as well.

The lantern show on Dragon Heads-raising Day also symbolizes people's wishes for favorable weather conditions that would lead to a good harvest.