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Walk into Foshan’s Lingnan Tiandi this season and you’ll notice it before anything else: a towering horse mid-stride, glowing against the old brick lanes.
Nearly seven meters tall, the lantern sculpture rises above the square as if caught in motion, a traditional craft scaled to theatrical proportions.
Image courtesy of Lingnan Tiandi
The installation is part of this year’s festive theme, ‘A New Year, A New Steed of Promise’, drawn from Han Yu’s classic writing on horses.
Rather than celebrating a single dramatic leap, the idea centers on steady momentum, the long run forward that begins a new year.
The artwork itself incorporates references across cultures.
Its silhouette recalls the winged Pegasus of Western myth, while its spirit echoes the far-traveling heavenly horses of Dunhuang murals.
The name also plays on a homophone for ‘miracle’, turning the piece into a loud statement of New Year wish: progress arriving step by step.
Image by Rachel Wu/That’s
Around it, Lingnan Tiandi slips naturally into festival mode.
Image by Rachel Wu/That’s
Paper prints hang beside boutique storefronts, sugar painting glints under warm lights, and lion-dance crafts sit next to contemporary souvenirs.
Image by Rachel Wu/That’s
It feels like a neighborhood stretching into celebration.
There’s a modern layer too.
Visitors can follow interactive check-in points tied to the game: Game for Peace, completing small tasks and collecting themed blessings as they wander, a digital scavenger hunt threaded through a traditional setting.
Image courtesy of Lingnan Tiandi
The result is a New Year atmosphere that doesn’t rely on spectacle alone.
The giant horse draws you in, but what lingers is the movement around it: families circling back for photos, friends comparing decorations, and shop lights warming the street toward evening.
When & Where
Giant Lantern Horse Installation
Feb 5 – Mar 8 | Lingnan Tiandi Clock Tower
Opening Lion & Dragon Celebration
Feb 17 (LNY Day 1)
Festive Programs
Feb 19–20 (LNY Day 3–4)
God of Wealth Celebration
Feb 21 (LNY Day 5)
Travel Tip
Lingnan Tiandi makes an easy holiday detour.
It’s about 40–60 minutes from Guangzhou by metro (Guangfo Line to Zumiao), or around 1–1.5 hours from Shenzhen via high-speed rail plus metro, close enough to decide over breakfast and still make it back for dinner.
[Cover image courtesy of Lingnan Tiandi]
