The Lantern Festival is one of the traditional festivals in China. During this year's Lantern Festival, people from all over the country celebrated the festival merrily, and the festive atmosphere grew thicker and warmer in the streets. In Beijing, 345 festive events featuring lantern making, riddle guessing and other cultural activities were organized. In Fengjing Township, Jinshan District of Shanghai, an intangible cultural heritage (ICH) fair was held for an extended period of time, presenting ICH craftsmanship, ICH cuisines, ICH education. At this year's Lantern Festival, ICHs decorated people's life and gave the perennial ICH culture a more presentable life in a new epoch.

The Lantern Festival originates from a folklore in kindling lanterns and praying for good livelihood, which also gives its name. Touring lantern fairs, eating sweet dumplings, performing lantern dances and walking on high tilts are some of the must-dos at the festival. The Lantern Festival sets up a stage for concentrated exhibition of amazing ICH craftsmanship, allowing traditional culture to creatively evolve based on generations of inheritance and presenting Chinese culture to the world.

ICH protection currently has entered into a new stage of systematic protection. As one of the earliest contracting parties of UNESCO's (United Nations Educational，Scientific，and Cultural Organization) Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage, China has been actively implementing the instructions of the Convention, exhibiting "Chinese wisdom", exploring an ICH development path fitting the China's own situations, and receiving prevalent recognition of the international community.

The 14th Five-Year Plan for Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage instructs that by 2025, representative ICH projects shall be effectively protected; the operating system shall be precise and normalized to ensure effective operation; the operating structure shall be more complete; the protection and inheritance system shall be more refined; innovative power shall be inspired; the public shall have a better sense of recognition, participation and ownership in ICH; ICH's role in serving the present and benefiting the public shall be further unleashed. Looking into the future, the only way to inherit historical treasures, share the fruits of protection and development and establish the country as a cultural force is through quality protection, inheritance and use of ICH including those shown at the Lantern Festival.