It is the traditional Lantern Festival (also called "Yuan Xiao Jie") in Chinese lunar calendar today. It is also regarded as one of the two Chinese "St. Valentine's Days".

Family dinner, visiting lanterns shows and having "Tang Yuan" (a kind of sweet dumplings) are three happy musts for the event.

The promotion of "Tang Yuan" in a supermarket (Guangzhou Daily photo)

Where shall we go to look at the beautiful lanterns in Guangzhou? Just the parks and sightseeing spots like the following:

Baiyun Mountain, Gigantic "Dragon" plus Lotus Wishing Lanterns

A series of lanterns shows are set up at various places in the mountain, like the South Entrance, Neng Ren Temple, meadows, Hilltop Square and Pearl Lake.

A couple of lovers light a wish-making lamp at the Pearl Lake at the foot of Baiyun Mountain.  (Guangzhou Daily photo)

The shows last until March 9th, and display 20 sets of large lanterns.

You can fell the romance with the Lotus Wishing Lanterns at the Pearl Lake, by putting your note of wishes in a lantern, light it up and let it go floating on the water.

A gigantic setup of "Flourishing Golden Dragon" is another attraction. It is 48 meters long and composed of some 20 lanterns.

Yuexiu Park, the record-many lanterns

The Yuexiu Park near the Liuhua Trade Fair Complex is the locally celebrated venue of lanterns shows. Sixty groups of lanterns will be displayed there. The show area is over 100 thousand square meters.

Culture Park, Lantern boxes with paintings and calligraphies

A hand-in-hand couple visit the Cultural Park. (Guangzhou Daily photo)

Eight big lantern boxes with traditional Chinese paintings and calligraphies will be shown. There will be an evening show as well.

More Fun: Award Riddles Guess

A total of 9,999 riddles about the Olympics are prepared for your fun and wits on the 4th and 5th floors of the Grandview Mall in Tianhe.

Six riddle masters will be there to teach the skills of guessing. More than 10 thousand awards are for the right answers.

The festival is relatively more for family gathering, compared to the lovers' romance of western St. Valentine's Days.