Watermelon lantern introduction:Pinghu is known as the hometown of watermelon. The resulting watermelon culture has a long and colorful history. Among them, the earliest and most famous one is the watermelon lantern art. Every midsummer, carving watermelon lanterns is a joy for every household in Pinghu.
To carve a watermelon lantern, you must first select a suitable watermelon (oblong or full circle) according to your own conception and pattern design. First, draw the pattern on the watermelon skin, and then use a special tool to carve it until it is white. , after the pattern is carved, use a knife to cut off a piece of the melon handle to open the top, carefully dig out the pulp, hang a rope around the top, make a lantern, and light candles inside. Can be carried hand-held or hung. In order to make the melon lantern more beautiful, various decorations of the melon lantern can be designed and made, such as the upper cover, lower holder, lantern core, etc.
Since the 1980s, Pinghu’s melon cultural activities have become increasingly rich in content. In 1985 and 1986, Pinghu held the Watermelon Lantern Competition twice in a row. In July 1989, Pinghu held the unprecedented scale Watermelon Lantern Festival, and also filmed the TV art film "Journey to the Melon Country". In 1991, when celebrating Pinghu's withdrawal from the county and its establishment as a city, the Watermelon Lantern Festival and Trade Fair was held, and large-scale lanterns such as the "Glorious History Lantern" and "South Lake Red Boat" carefully crafted by skilled craftsmen were displayed. In the spring of 2000, Pinghu Watermelon Lantern held a one-week watermelon lantern exhibition at "Quyuan Fenghe" in Hangzhou, and went to Taiwan, the treasure island of the motherland, to hold a "watermelon lantern exhibition". Today, the Watermelon Lantern Cultural Festival held every year has become a unique local festival in Pinghu and an important business card for foreign cultural exchanges and investment promotion.