(Yicai) Jan. 27 -- Visitors flocked to the Yu Garden in Shanghai on the first day of the Lantern Festival celebrations, which will run throughout March 3.

The Lantern Festival is a traditional celebration on the 15th day of the first month in the Chinese lunisolar calendar. This year, it will fall on March 3. The Chinese year starting Feb. 17 will be the Year of the Horse.

Themed ‘Returning Home for the Chinese New Year,’ this year’s Yu Garden Lantern Festival celebrations create a comprehensive experience that integrates lantern viewing, sightseeing, interaction, and shopping.

Visitors stroll around at the Yu Garden under festive Chinese New Year lanterns despite the rainy weather.

Pixelated horse-shaped lanterns are hung above the roads at the Yu Garden.

Horse-shaped lanterns inspired by the ‘Six Steeds of Zhao Mausoleum’ sculptures tower the Yu Garden’s center square.

The colorful lights and lanterns inspired by Chinese mythological story Classic of Mountains and Sea illuminate the Yu Garden’s Nine-Turn Bridge.

 This purple lantern represents divine bird Vermilion Bird from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

This pink lantern represents mythical beast Jiliang from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, which symbolizes the endless vitality of the wilderness.

Editor: Futura Costaglione