‘The lantern capital’: The small village that makes nearly all of China’s lanterns

In China, red lanterns are one of the symbols of Lunar New Year celebrations. They can be seen everywhere — on streets, in temple grounds, everywhere, the BBC writes.

Surprisingly, it is claimed that a remarkable 80% of the country’s lanterns are still made – by hand – in one small town in Hebei Province.

Walking around the dusty streets of Tuntou, known as China’s “lantern capital,” you see evidence of lantern making everywhere you go.

A view through an open door into a courtyard might reveal a small group of villagers sitting on stools and making lanterns while they chat, while down the main street, red lanterns are piled up one on top of the other.

Nobody seems to know just how many hundreds of years ago the craft started in this part of northern China.

It seems remarkable that, in an era of high-tech production lines, this town has been able to maintain a stranglehold on the lantern market, using production techniques from another era.