Flower lanterns are a comprehensive art made with a variety of techniques, crafts, decoration techniques, and materials. There are many types of lanterns, including dragon lanterns, palace lanterns, gauze lanterns, flower blue lanterns, dragon and phoenix lanterns, and angular lanterns. , tree and ground lights, fireworks lights, mushroom lights, etc., the shapes are round, square, cylindrical, polygonal, etc.
Dragon lantern, also known as "dragon dance", is one of the folk lighting and dance forms, popular in many places in China. There is a dragon head in front of the dragon lantern. The number of segments in the middle of the body varies, but it is usually an odd number. There is a stick under each segment for support. The ones with burning candles in each section are called "dragon lanterns", and the ones with non-burning candles are called "dragons". During the dance, one person plays the dragon with colorful beads, and the dragon's head rotates with the beads. Many other people hold a section to follow, tilt up and down, turn left and right, and coordinate with gongs and drums, which is very spectacular.
Palace lanterns are special handmade lanterns that are world-famous. Palace lanterns have this name because they are mostly made and used by royal palaces and government officials. The earliest existing palace lantern is the Ming Dynasty palace lantern collected by the Palace Museum. The production of palace lanterns is very complicated. They mainly use carved wood, carved bamboo, and engraved copper as the skeleton, and then inlay them with gauze, glass or horn pieces, and paint them with various auspicious and festive themes such as landscapes, flowers, birds, fish, insects, and figures. Top-grade palace lanterns are also inlaid with jade or white jade.
The revolving lantern is a unique type of ornamental lantern in the art of lanterns. Its reputation has spread throughout the country and abroad, with the Guangdong revolving lantern being the best.
The rabbit lantern has three heads arranged side by side into one body. The middle head is very big and is commonly known as "rabbit woman". The heads on both sides are smaller, so it is called "thin rabbit". Bamboo strips are used as the skeleton. It is made of red, white and green paper, with a wick inserted in the middle, which can be lit and carried away. According to legend, this is someone who is eager to have children, and the rabbit will give birth to children as a symbol, which means having many children and grandchildren, and it has been passed down to this day.