Travel allowances and dining and accommodation discounts will be offered to Hong Kong and Macao visitors at the 2026 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Lantern Carnival to be held in Nansha of Guangzhou next month, its organizer said on Tuesday.
At a promotion conference in Hong Kong, organizers said this year’s edition aims to provide the public with a more immersive and attractive experience, with more Greater Bay Area elements.
Kicking off on Feb 10, a week ahead of Chinese New Year, the lantern carnival will occupy a 53.8-hectare exhibition area, featuring five thematic zones and hundreds of lantern installations. A 2.5-kilometer main route will showcase over 100 large lantern displays, and nearly 1,000 live performances.
The carnival will last for 90 days, covering Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, Valentine’s Day, Women’s Day and Labor Day.
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Huang Shuang, chairman of the board of Guangzhou Nansha Asset Operation Group Corporation — the carnival’s host — told reporters that tourists holding carnival tickets can claim a travel allowance.
By presenting train tickets to Guangzhou, air tickets to cities in the Greater Bay Area, ferry tickets, and payment vouchers for highway tolls, visitors can claim a subsidy of 10 percent of the payment amount on designated platforms. The maximum subsidy per application is 100 yuan ($14.4).
During the event, Hong Kong and Macao tour groups of 10 or more can enjoy admission fee discounts. Designated hotels and over 20 restaurants will also provide discounts.
By uploading the carnival ticket to designated platforms, Hong Kong and Macao visitors can also claim free admission to attractions such as Nansha Tinhou Temple, Nansha Wetland, and Nansha Mingzhu agricultural park.
Huang said this year's lantern festival aims to provide visitors a more concentrated experience by featuring more popular anime IPs, and to lure younger audiences with comic conventions, music festivals, and similar events.
The two special administrative regions will play a bigger part in the festival this year. In a collaborative effort across the Greater Bay Area, 11 outstanding designs from over 3,000 entries in a cross-border youth design campaign will be incorporated into lanterns and displayed at the carnival.
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Ouyang Jianhua, deputy district mayor of Nansha, noted that the city has always been committed to promoting cultural exchanges in the Greater Bay Area.
This year's lantern festival, in conjunction with a flower market and a fireworks display, will form three major brands, with a deep focus on the collaborative synergy of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, added Ouyang.
He said intangible cultural heritage performances will be staged during the event, as well as utilizing technologies such as visual reality, to create immersive interactive spaces to the public. Other activities include an animation carnival, and a music festival jointly presented by Chinese and Kazakhstani artists to inject more vitality.
The lantern festival acts as a medium to deepen cooperation in the Greater Bay Area, opens a new chapter in regional cultural and tourism integration, as well as jointly building a Greater Bay Area that is warmer and more vibrant, he said.
A signing ceremony was also held during the event, witnessing various partners of the events, such as China Travel Service (Hong Kong), Big Line Holiday, Trip.com, the Chinese Photographic Association of Hong Kong to further collaboration.
Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com
